A Ninja Summoned
by Baleygr
Summary: Harry Potter disappeared seven years ago. Now, the Goblet of Fire has summoned him from where he was. Older than he should be, and not amused that he was taken from his wife, he will do what he has to do in order to get home. He may have been forced into this mess, but he'll be damned if he's going to play by their rules.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Four years has passed since the end of the 4th Shinobi World War. Uzumaki-Ishimaru Takumi, formerly known as Harry Potter, sat on the back porch of the house he and his wife of one year lived in.

Having arrived by some unknown means in the forest just outside Konoha just over 14 years ago, he had never regretted his choice in becoming a ninja. Relaxing, he thought back on how he came to be there.

 **Flashback**

 _It was November, and they had had their first test in school. Seven year old Harry Potter was staring at the test that had just been returned to him. He had gotten an A on it._

 _This was bad. His cousin Dudley had only gotten an E on his, meaning Harry had done better. And if it was one thing the walrus and the horse (uncle and aunt) would really punish him for, it was for being better than their 'perfect, little angel'._

 _Harry sighed. With luck, he would only get a few smacks, and then be thrown into his cupboard without food. He doubted it would be so, but one could hope._

 _He was right. When they had gotten home it turned out Vernon had been passed over for a promotion, and was in a bad mood. When Vernon found out the Harry had done better on the test than Dudley, his bad mood turned to anger, and that anger was directed towards Harry._

 _The beating he received was worse than he had feared. His left arm was broken, several of his ribs were at least cracked, if not outright broken, and he wouldn't discard the possibility that he had internal bleedings. His nose had also been broken, and was now bleeding heavily on his dirty mattress as he lies in his cupboard. Feeling despair well up inside him, he wishes to be saved, to be taken away from these horrible people._

 _Suddenly, he feels as if his body begins to burn, followed by the feeling of being squeezed through a small tube, before he passes out._

 **Flashback end**

He had been found passed out, by a chuunin returning to Konoha after a C-rank mission. Said chuunin, one Ishimaru Keiichi, had taken him to the Konoha Hospital, where he was treated for his broken bones, internal bleeding and, according to the doctors, chakra exhaustion. He was asleep for a whole week. During the time he was asleep, the Hokage had asked a Yamanaka to check out his memories, in order to make sure he wasn't a spy. The Yamanaka who had performed the deed was livid when he came out of the memories. He told the Hokage that Harry was in no way a spy, and that the injuries he had was due to him being abused by his own relatives. He claimed that Harry's so-called relatives where the lowest of the low, and that even Orochimaru was a better person than them.

When Harry woke up, he learned that he was in a new world. After learning about the world, he was asked what he wanted to do. Not wanting to be weak, he decided to become a shinobi. He also choose to change his name in order to symbolize a new start, and to fit in better. He choose the last name Ishimaru, in order to honour the man who had saved him, and the first name Takumi. He had come to love the sight of the ocean from the few pictures and snippets of TV programs he had seen with it in, so choosing a name that meant open sea felt right to him.

Once he was released from the hospital, he was given a choice. He could either live at an orphanage with other orphans or, he could be given a small stipend each month and a small apartment to live in until he graduated from the academy and became a genin, when he had to start paying for the apartment himself. Knowing how to both cook and clean due to his life with the Dursley's, he choose to live alone.

He was given an apartment next to another orphan, a girl the same age as him. Smiling, he remembered his first meeting with his new neighbour.

 **Flashback**

 _He had just arrived at his new home after being given the key and address to the place. The place was kind off run down, but at least it wasn't a cupboard. Walking up the stairs to the floor his apartment was on, he noticed an increase in graffiti on the walls, all speaking of the hatred its writers had for some 'demon', or such. Reaching the third floor, he saw that there was only two apartments there. His apartment was the one furthest away from the stairs, but it was the first one that held his attention. The door to that apartment was covered in graffiti, so much so that you could no longer see the original colour of the door._

 _As he stood there watching, the door opened and a girl walked out. She was about his age, maybe a bit younger, with sun-kissed blond hair put up in two pigtails. Her clothes was a white T-shirt, orange pants and blue shoes. She turned towards the stairs and he could see her face for the first time._

 _Eyes like sapphire, a cute nose, an open face with a large smile and whisker like marks on her cheeks. The only thing he could think about was how pretty she was. That thought only intensified when she saw him and her smile increased by a 1000%. It was as if he was looking at the sun with how bright it was._

 _She quickly came up to him and greeted him._

" _Yo, I'm Uzumaki Naruko! Who are you?"_

 _Still a bit distracted, he answered. "Ah, I'm Ishimaru Takumi, and I'm your new neighbour. Nice to meet you."_

 _As Naruko continued to ask him questions, all he could think was 'Cute'._

 **Flashback end**

He and Naruko had soon become friends. When he learned about how people treated Naruko, he had come up with a plan. They knocked down a part of the wall between their apartments, making them roommates rather than neighbours. He was also the one who did all the shopping, as the stores would only sell rotten or overpriced food to Naruko.

Thanks to them pooling their resources, and him being able to cook, they were both able to eat healthy meals every day, stopping the malnourishment they both had been forced to endure before. And once they both had started the academy, they found out that it wasn't just the stores that had a grudge against Naruko for some unknown reason. Many of the teachers also held a hatred for her, and she was given heavily altered books. But thanks to him letting her use his books, she was able to stop herself from falling behind.

As the years passed, he and Naruko continued to help each other. Naruko was a practical learner, but thanks to him explaining the stuff the teachers taught, she was able to do well in the written parts of the academy.

While training together, they also figured out what combat styles fitted them best. Due to her massive amount of chakra and self-healing ability, Naruko was a close-range nin/tai-user. She would be able to get up and personal with the enemy, all while spamming wide area jutsus without fearing chakra exhaustion. And after learning about the Sannin Tsunade and her super strength, she started to attempt to replicate it. Thanks to his help and the chakra control exercises he got from the library, doubled with the inherent chakra control all females had, by the middle of their last year in the academy, she was able to punch down small trees with the technique.

He himself, on the other hand, favoured long range and kenjutsu mixed with ninjutsu and genjutsu as his fighting style. Using two ninjato as weapon, he had become proficient in one-handed seals so that he could still use one ninjato when using ninjutsu or genjutsu. As a result, they both complemented each other very well.

Naruko still pranked people and places, but now she had a willing accomplice in him. Together, they pranked everything from the stores that wouldn't sell Naruko anything good, to some of the clan compounds and even the ANBU headquarter. Thanks to the pranks, they both now had stealth and endurance on a level that many Jounin didn't have, since they now could both prank the ANBU _and_ lead them on a chase for a couple of hours without getting caught.

Then came the graduation exam. While he had graduated, the bias from the teacher had made Naruko fail, forcing her to remain in the academy for another six months before she could try again. He didn't want to leave her alone in the academy, but as he had graduated, there was nothing he could do about it.

But, some higher force seemed to disagree. The two teammates he got proved themselves to be unfit for the shinobi lifestyle, so he was sent back to the academy while they was let go.

The next six months he spent as much time as possible helping Naruko refine the skills needed to graduate. Since he had already graduated, he wasn't allowed to stay during the exam, but he waited outside for her to finish. When she came out, dejected and without a hitai-ate, he was angry. Once again she had been sabotaged by a teacher and been denied the right to graduate, even though he _knew_ she had the skills and knowledge for it.

So, after he had taken Naruko to Ichiraku's in order to cheer her up, he went to the Hokage to complain. When the old man learned that his surrogate granddaughter was sabotaged by a teacher in order to stop her from graduating and becoming a ninja, he was just as angry as Takumi.

The Sandaime promised to have some of the ANBU investigate the two who would be Naruko's teachers for the next six months in order to ferret out any proof of foul play before the graduation. He continued to say that, since this graduation had 27 successful graduates, he (Takumi) would not be put on a team, but instead would be given an apprenticeship with a Jounin until the next graduation. Takumi thanks the Hokage and leaves.

Over the next six months, he trains with his Jounin-sensei, Gekkou Hayate, one of the few kenjutsu specialists in Konoha, and with Naruko. The ANBU was able to find out that the teacher Iruka didn't have any problems with Naruko, and would love to see her graduate, but his colleague, Mizuki, hated Naruko with all his might. After taking him to the T&I department, they also found out that he was a traitor working with Orochimaru and had been planning to use Naruko in order to steal the Forbidden Scroll.

The graduation came, and this time Naruko graduated without any trouble. She was placed on a team with Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura (Takumi had been promoted to chuunin about a month before). The Uchiha believed that everyone was beneath him, and Haruno was a fangirl of the worst kind. They could not work together. Sasuke belittled Naruko, believing her to be a worthless idiot, despite her being more skilled than him, and Sakura believed Naruko was going to take 'her' 'Sasuke-kun'. The delusions of some people were really strange…

While Naruko tried to work with them, they both refused, and by all means, they should have failed the test. But the Civilian Council wanted the Uchiha to become a ninja, and Haruno's mother was on that council, so they passed.

The following month was filled with useless team exercises and D-rank missions. It wasn't until the Uchiha snapped and demanded a C-rank things got interesting.

He had entered the room just after the Uchiha had demanded a C-rank, and it wasn't until he suggested that he would join them that the Hokage agreed.

They had been given the mission to guard a builder named Tazuna on his way back to Wave, and until he had finished his project. It later turned out that Tazuna had underrated the mission, and that it was more of an A-rank. First, they fought the Demon Brothers, a pair of Mist nuke-nin that usually worked for Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, so it came as no surprise when they later ran into him too.

It was also what happened during this mission that proved Hatake Kakashi's inability to teach. He had been their sensei for more than a month now, and he had yet to teach them tree-climbing and water-walking. Not that it mattered for Naruko, since she had learned that back in the academy together with himself, but still…

It was only luck that had them surviving the mission. Unfortunately, Naruko lost a friend during the mission, and the Uchiha gained his pink eyes. This led Kakashi to abandon the other two in order to concentrate on the Uchiha.

Takumi had offered Naruko and Haruno training, but Haruno screeched at him and went to watch the Uchiha. So, it was just him and Naruko training again. He decided to tell her about elemental transformation of chakra. He took out two pieces of chakra paper, and gave one to Naruko before telling her about it. He said that when channelling chakra into the paper, it would react based on what type of chakra element the person had.

Channelling chakra into the paper he held, it crinkled up into a ball before starting to drip water. Seeing Naruko's look of interest, he explains that if the paper starts to burn, then it represent fire, is cut, then its wind, crumbles when its earth, crinkles for lightning and turns soggy for water.

Understanding what to do, Naruko channels chakra into the paper, and watches as it instantly splits down the middle, showing that she has wind as her element.

He decided that once they were back in Konoha, he would ask around for someone who could help Naruko with mastering wind chakra.

Once they were back in Konoha, Takumi was able to find a wind-user in the Hokage's son, Sarutobi Asuma, the sensei of Team Ten.

The following months passed quickly, with Takumi often away on missions, but he still trained with Naruko when he had time, and soon, the Chuunin Exam arrived. It went as expected, until the final, when Oto, a minor village under the command of Orochimaru, attacked with the help of Suna. They were able to defeat the attackers, but the Hokage died in battle when he sealed Orochimaru's arms. Naruko joined Jiraiya of the Sannin in order to track down Tsunade, who was to be the next Hokage.

Once they returned, the Uchiha ran away in order to join Orochimaru in his quest for power and vengeance. Naruko and four other were sent after him, with the orders to bring him back in any way possible. They failed, and were all injured when Orochimaru's elite force, the Sound Four, helped the Uchiha escape.

Once healed, Naruko went on a training trip for three years with Jiraiya, and when she returned, things changed between them.

 **Flashback**

 _Ishimaru Takumi, newly promoted Tokubetsu Jounin due to his skill with his ninjato and the only Konohan shinobi to hold the Ranton (Storm Release) Kekkai Genkai, was having the day off. It had only been four months since he found out that he had a Kekkai Genkai, when he attempted to create a new jutsu, mixed lightning and water chakra, and got a lightning bolt that moved like water. When he showed his discovery to the Hokage, she recognized the signs of a Ranton technique and told him about the Kekkai Genkai, which until then only existed in Kumo._

 _After about a month of training, he had created his first technique. He called it Ranton: Inazuma (Storm release: Lightning Whip). It worked in similar ways as the Suiton: Suiben (Water release: Water Whip) used by Kiri hunter-nins, but without the need to channel lightning chakra into it manually._

 _This creation cemented his promotion to Tokubetsu Jounin. So now, he was walking down the main street in Konoha, wondering what to do. Suddenly, he was hit by an orange and yellow blur, and he finds himself on his back with someone straddling his stomach. The first thing he sees is golden hair and the body of a goddess. Then he looks closer and sees sapphire eyes and whisker-marked cheeks._

" _Naru-chan?"_

" _I'm back, Ta-kun!"_ _she says, giving him a bright smile before kissing him full on the mouth. At first, he is shocked by her action, but soon he kisses her back. After about a minute, they stop and Naruko helps him get up._

" _Not that I'm complaining, but… why?"_

 _Naruko looks a bit sheepish when she answers._

" _W-Well, during these years I've been gone, I've done some thinking, a-and I… I believe I'm in love with you." She says with a blush._

 _At this point, Takumi is also blushing._

" _So, uhm…" Naruko continues, "w-would you like to be my boyfriend..?"_

 _Right now she's sporting an atomic blush, and he can see a small look of fear in her eyes, mostly due to the possibility of him rejecting her._

" _I would love to." He says, giving her a warm smile and sees her face light up as the sun due to happiness._

 **Flashback end**

They had kept their relationship silent, as they didn't want the attention focused on them. They went on a few dates, spent time together when not on missions, and slowly but surely, grooving closer. But then, everything began to go to hell. First, a message came, telling the Hokage that the criminal organization Akatsuki had kidnapped the Kazekage, Gaara. The Akatsuki were apparently hunting down Jinchuuriki, planning to extract the bijuu from them for some kind of purpose. Gaara was saved, but he had lost his bijuu, the Ichibi.

Not long after that, Jiraiya was killed by the leader of Akatsuki, someone who called himself Pein. Pein attacked Konoha, and destroyed the village with one attack. Many died in the destruction, and even more was killed in the attempts to stop Pein. Takumi himself had fallen in battle, his last thoughts being of Naruko, his love.

He had found himself in a dark place, with a deformed baby and a red-headed woman as company. The woman had taken the baby, before throwing it out in the darkness, where it disintegrated. She had then told him that she was his mother, and that she was proud of him. She gave him a hug, and told him that 'it wasn't his time yet', and that he better give her some grand-babies before they met again. Then everything turned black, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw a distraught Naruko leaning over him.

Naruko told him that after she had defeated Pein (whose real name was Nagato), he had used his last powers to revive everyone who had died. And everyone did revive. But he and Tsunade hadn't woken up, and the medics had told her that they were both in some sort of coma. Tsunade due to her overtaxing herself during the fight with Pein, while trying to keep as many alive as possible. But they had no clue to why he was in a come too. He had not exhausted his chakra during the fight, and he had died due to a chakra-rod through the heart, so there was no trauma to the head either. All they could do was letting him rest and hope he would wake up.

That had been three day ago.

During those three days, Naruko had not left his side, fearing he would never wake up. As such, their relationship was now public knowledge, and thanks to Naruko having defeated Pein, people were happy for them.

Then Shimura Danzo manipulated his way into becoming the Hokage, claiming that since Tsunade was in a coma, a new Hokage was needed.

A Five Kage Conference was called by the Raikage, A, in order to combat the Akatsuki, but the conference was attacked by Uchiha Sasuke and a man claiming to be Uchiha Madara. Madara declared the beginning of the 4th Shinobi World War, and then left. The Kage's all returned to their villages, in order to prepare for war. Danzo was killed by Uchiha Sasuke on his way back to Konoha. Fortunately, Tsunade had woken up, and returned to her duties as the Godaime Hokage.

The war began, and Naruko was sent to Kumo in order to train with the only remaining Jinchuuriki, Killer B. The Allied Shinobi Forces were able to hold their ground in the beginning, but soon had to go on the defensive as the enemy used the Edo Tensei in order to resurrect the fallen to fight for them.

He had been wounded at that time, and as such wasn't there when everything went to hell, but he heard the stories from the survivors, and Naruko confirmed that the Akatsuki had revived a Goddess who was bent on destroying the world. Naruko had been able to seal the Goddess with the help of Uchiha Sasuke, but after they had won, Sasuke had attempted to kill all the leaders in order for him to rule the world. She had been forced to kill him for that.

The next three years were spent rebuilding. Naruko rose through the ranks and soon became a Jounin. Takumi himself remained a Tokubetsu Jounin, having decided to explore his Kekkai Genkai more, rather than getting promoted. Thanks to the peace between the Hidden Villages, Kumo had sent him copies of all the scrolls they had on Ranton, and he sent back copies of every new technique he created. He had also been given the right to sign the Owl Summoning contract, and was now one of the few allowed to summon the Kaminari no Kuni Battle Owls.

Two years after the war, he had asked Naruko to marry him. She had happily said yes, and once the rebuilding process was done, they had gotten married.

Tsunade had performed the ceremony, and a lot of Naruko's and his friends were there. Naruko had chosen Hyuuga Hinata as her maid-of-honour, and several of the kunoichi she knew had joined as bridesmaids. There was Temari, the older sister of the Kazekage and wife of Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, who had followed her father's footsteps and joined the T&I department as an interrogator. Then there was Mitarashi Anko, the second-in-command for the T&I department, and Gekkou Yuugao, ANBU and wife of Gekkou Hayate. Coincidentally, Takumi had asked Hayate to be his best man.

He had chosen to marry into Naruko's clan, the Uzumaki, and therefore changed his name accordingly. Since she was now married, Naruko had become a member of the Clan Council, as the head of the Uzumaki clan, though it was mostly he who went to the meetings, as Naruko only fell asleep during them due to boredom. Which led to where he was now.

Having just returned to their home after a meeting in which Tsunade had announced that she was going to retire and her successor would be Hatake Kakashi, both Naruko and he were emotionally exhausted. Sitting there, enjoying the late October sun, Takumi didn't regret a single thing he had done these last 14 years.

 **Scene change**

 **Hogwarts, Headmaster's office, October 20** **th** **, 1994**

Dumbledore was _not_ a happy camper. It had been almost seven years since Harry Potter had disappeared from his aunt and uncle's home without a trace, and nothing he had tried could find the boy.

When his instruments had first registered the wards around #4 Privet Drive falling, he had hurried there, expecting to find the place under attack. What he found instead was a normal (if a bit boring) house, with no trace of the wards, and no trace of Harry Potter. He had hoped that he could find Potter before he was to start at Hogwarts, but nothing had been able to locate him. Even the magic quill that was enchanted to always write out the exact address of the new students, were unable to supply a location, despite being fuelled directly by the ley-lines that powered Hogwarts wards.

The things the quill had written looked very similar to the writing style used in Japan, but once a translation spell was used, it only showed gibberish. Thus, they couldn't track him using it, and once the letter had been given to an owl, the owl simply flew around the room a few times before landing again, showing that it couldn't find him either.

Thus came September 1st, and Harry Potter was a no-show. He had been forced to explain in front of the Wizengamot that Harry had disappeared 4 years earlier, and that he had no idea where he was. The uproar had been huge. It was only by calling in almost every favour he was owned he avoided being removed from his positions as Headmaster of Hogwarts and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, but there was nothing he could do to stop himself from being sacked from the position as Supreme Mugwump for the ICW.

The first year went well enough. Well, if you ignore the fact that a muggleborn student had been crippled by a troll which had somehow entered the castle, and that the DADA professor, Quirinus Quirrell, had been found housing the spirit of the dark lord Voldemort in the back of his head. Dumbledore had been able to defeat the spirit, but Quirrell died as a result.

The second year didn't go any better than the first. Somehow, someone had opened the legendary Chamber of Secrets, and thus releasing the monster inside it. Three students were petrified and one teacher died before young Ginerva Weasley, a first year student, came to him and told him about a diary that wrote back and her having blackouts. Examining the diary, it turned out that it contained a younger version of Voldemort, and that it had been feeding on you Ginerva's life force in order to return to life. Thus did the attacks of the monster stop, but the teacher that had died, one Gilderoy Lockhart, was found out to have raped several of the younger female students before removing their memories of the event. All his money were split up and given to his victims as an apology (not that it helped, since each and every one of them required years of therapy before they could stand being in the same room as an older male again).

In the third year, mass murderer Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban, and the minister (in his oh so splendid wisdom) decided to place soul-sucking monsters called Dementors around Hogwarts for protection. Fortunately, that didn't last long as Sirius Black took contact with the director for the DMLE (Department of Magical Law Enforcement) Amelia Bones, claiming that he had never been given a trial, and that he was in fact innocent, and that if his safety could be guaranteed, he would give himself up so that he could prove his innocence. She had called in Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, and had him take some people he trusted in order to protect Black as he was brought in for a trial. And it was lucky for Black she did that, as the group was attacked three times by Dementors, trying to kiss him. But Black was given his trial, and was proven innocent. Peter Pettigrew, the real betrayer of the Potters, had been hiding as a pet rat the whole time, and was able to escape before he was caught. Though, thankfully, an investigation showed that he at least hadn't touched the children in the family he had been hiding with.

When Black learned that Harry was missing, and that Dumbledore had put him with the Dursley's, he immediately cut all connections with Dumbledore, and publicly spoke out against the Headmaster, putting him in even more hot water. This time there was nothing he could do to not lose his position as the Chief Warlock, though he was able to remain as the Headmaster of Hogwarts.

And now they were in the fourth year. Trouble had already begun, as a group of Death Eaters had attacked in the aftermaths of the Quidditch World Cup finals. Fortunately, no-one had been killed, but the hysteria the attacked caused made things look like they did towards the end of the war with Voldemort in the 70's.

It also ramped up the security concerns for the Tri-Wizard Tournament that was to be held at Hogwarts that year. In just a few days, the delegations from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons would arrive, and on the 31st, the drawing of the champions would happen during the Halloween feast. He could only hope everything would go off with any problems…

 **Hogwarts Great Hall, Evening, Oct 31** **st** **, 1994**

As everyone had at least had one serving of food, Dumbledore stood up and asked for silence.

"Students of Hogwarts, visitors from abroad, it is time for the drawing of the champions!" he exclaimed. Clapping his hands, the doors to the Great Hall opened, and the Goblet of Fire was carried inside by a sour-looking Argus Filch.

The Goblet was put down in the middle of the Hall, and Dumbledore used his wand to dim the lights in order to make a better show.

"At any moment now, the Goblet will chose the champions, and once it is done, can those chosen please enter this room so that we can give you some information about the tournament and the upcoming tasks." Dumbledore says, pointing towards a door to his left. "And now, get ready. The Goblet is about to choose the champions."

At that moment, the fire in the Goblet flashes bright white, and a flame leaves it, carrying a piece of parchment with it. Dumbledore grabs the piece of parchment out of the air and looks down on it.

"The champion of Durmstrang is… Viktor Krum!"

Applauds filled the Hall, and Krum stood up to the sound of cheering ("Well done, Viktor! I knew you could do it!" came from Durmstrangs Headmaster, Igor Karkaroff."), and entered the room Dumbledore had pointed at.

As soon as Krum left the Great Hall, the cheering and applauds stopped, and soon everyone was looking at the Goblet again, waiting for the next champion. It didn't take long before the fire in it flashed white again, and a new piece of parchment was spit out. Once again, Dumbledore caught it before looking at it.

"Representing Beauxbatons… Fleur Delacour!"

This time, the applauds were mixed. Almost all of the men were clapping as heard as they could, while the female students almost glared at Fleur as she left the Hall the same way Krum had. About a minute later, the next name was spat from the Goblet.

"Champion of Hogwarts is… Cedric Diggory!"

Cedric left the hall to polite applauds from the visiting schools, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, loud cheering from Hufflepuff and sporadic clapping from Slytherin. Once it was quiet again, Dumbledore addressed the students.

"Now, the champions have been selected…"

He is cut off as the Goblet flashes white a fourth time, and everyone watches in silence as another piece of parchment is launched towards the Headmaster. Silently grabbing the offending piece of parchment, he stares at it for a while with a strange look on his face.

"Harry Potter…"

In the silence that filled the Great Hall, everyone could hear the Headmaster quietly saying the name of a person that had been missing for seven years. That was when some of the students noticed that the Goblet was acting strangely. It was pulsing, like a heartbeat, and the fire inside it was slowly growing in intensity as the pulsing became stronger. Soon, everyone was staring at the Goblet, and the professor's had their wands out and pointing at the Goblet, not knowing what would happen.

Suddenly, the fire inside the Goblet roared to life. A giant flame of pure, white fire left the Goblet and landed on the floor in front of the Head Table, where it started to swirl at high speed, before suddenly going out, leaving a dark-haired man crouched on the floor behind.

 **Konoha, Uzumaki Home, Evening, Oct 31** **st**

Takumi and Naruko had just finished their evening spar, and were now sitting under a tree in their backyard, just enjoying the closeness of each other. Takumi had been thinking of becoming a Jounin in order to take a Genin team, and with the help of his loving wife, he was slowly reaching the point where he could be considered for a promotion.

"What are you thinking about?"

He smiled down at Naruko.

"Oh, just how lucky I am to have you in my life, Naru-chan." He said, giving her a light kiss. She snuggled deeper into his side, and gave a content sigh.

Hugging her tightly for a second, he then made to stand up.

"Do we have to get up?" Naruko complained. Takumi just chuckled before answering.

"Well, since I was planning to make dinner, I think we have to."

Naruko immediately got up, since she loved his cooking, and started to drag him towards the kitchen while he laughed. Suddenly he froze, a feeling of being burned spread throughout his body, and he could hear voices speaking in a language he hadn't heard for 14 years.

Naruko noticed that he froze, and turned towards him with a concerned look on her face.

"Ta-kun, what's wrong?"

"I don't know… It feels as if I'm on fire, and I'm hearing voices speaking in a language I haven't heard for almost 14 years."

Naruko then noticed that his hand appeared to be disappearing in what seemed to be white fire.

"Ta-kun! Your hand, look at your hand!"

Looking down, he saw what she had seen, and noticed that while his body seemed to be disappearing, the voices was getting clearer.

"It would seem that I'm getting summoned somewhere." He looked Naruko in the eyes. "I do not know what is going on, but I promise you, I will come back to you. When I'm gone, go to the Hokage and tell that lazy pervert what has happened. I will send an Owl summon with information as soon as I know anything."

At this point, only part of his torso and his head was left, so he leaned in and kissed her before he disappeared completely.

"And remember Naru-chan, I love you…"

And with that, he disappeared completely. Naruko rubbed the tears from her eyes, and used a shunshin in order to report what had happened to the Hokage.

 **With Takumi**

It was a strange feeling, being turned into fire, moved to another place, and then turned back to a human. Takumi looked around. He was in what appeared to be a dining hall of some sort, possibly a school, since most of the people he could see were in their early to late teens.

Turning around, he saw a group of adults standing next to a table, pointing what looked like sticks at him. An old man with long grey beard and extremely bad fashion sense (I mean, pink robes with dark blue stars and puke-green crescent moons on it, who the hell wears that?) cleared his throat before saying a single name.

"Harry Potter?"

 **This is the first chapter in a story I got the idea for after reading Troubles in Time by sakurademonalchemist and several of Arawn D. Draven's stories. I plan on continue this story once I'm done with Hollow Magic, or if inspiration strikes and I write a new chapter before that.**

 **The next chapter of Child of Light and Madness is on its way, and once that chapter is out, I will write the next one for Hollow Magic, which only has about 3 or 4 chapters more until its ended.**

 **So until then. Enjoy.**

 **Baleygr**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Silence.

When the Goblet of Fire erupted the entirety of those gathered in the Great Hall of Hogwarts fell silent. The silence grew even more prominent when a man emerged from the fire. The man was of average height, about 5'10", and dressed in all black. He was wearing a mesh shirt with a vest over it, form-fitted black pants with a pouch fastened to his right thigh. On his feet were strange toe-less boots, almost like sandals, but with much more support for the ankle. He had black hair cut short on top, with the sides long and pulled back in a ponytail. As he was facing the teachers table, most of them couldn't see his face, but he seemed to have a bandana tied to his forehead. The teachers seemed to be in shock, as if there was something about the man that had surprised them more than just his sudden appearance.

It wasn't until Headmaster Dumbledore said a name, a name no-one had expected to hear, they understood why the teachers were all shocked.

"Harry Potter."

The man reacted to this and looked at Dumbledore, before speaking.

"Sore wa watashi ga 14-nenkan yobidasa rete inai namaedesu."*

Frowning at the foreign language, Dumbledore waved his wand in the man's direction, causing him to tens up.

"What did you do, old man?" The man asked with a growl.

"It was a simple translation charm, my boy. As you didn't speak English, I thought it necessary to use one."

"Of course I wouldn't speak English, I haven't heard or spoken it for almost 14 years! Now, who are you, and why did you take me from my family?"

"My name is Albus Dumbledore, Harry my boy, and I'm the Headmaster of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry." Dumbledore raised his arms, as if to indicate that that's where they were right now. "And as for why you are here, you have been chosen to participate in the Tri-Wizard Tournament."

The man, who apparently was Harry Potter, gave Dumbledore a harsh glare before speaking. "My _name,_ old man, is Uzumaki-Ishimaru Takumi. Not 'Harry' or 'boy', and I'm not yours' anything. The only one who could possibly claim I belong to them is my wife. So unless you call me by my name, I will not answer. Understood?"

"Of course, Ha- Mr. Uzumaki."

"Good." Takumi said with a nod. "Now, what is this tournament you spoke of?"

"Ah, yes. The Tri-Wizard Tournament. Three students, one from each of the three premiere magical schools in Europe, are picked to compete in three tasks set before them. Tonight was the choosing of the champions, and somehow, your name came out as a fourth contender."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't tri mean three?"

"That's correct."

"Then how, in Kami's name, can there be a fourth competitor in a competition for three people?"

"Ah, well, we will try to figure that out, but as your name came out of the Goblet, you are bound to compete by a contract. So if you could enter the adjacent room, where the other champions are waiting, we can continue with informing the champions about the Tournament and the first task."

Giving Dumbledore a look that clearly said _'we are not done talking about this',_ Takumi slowly left the Great Hall, where multiple discussions about what had happened immediately broke out once he had closed the door behind him.

Walking down a small set of stairs, Takumi came to the room the three Tri-Wizard champions were located in. Stopping just outside the room, he observed the three teens in it. The first one, and only woman, sat on a couch to the right. She had a healthy pale complexion, with silver-blond hair and pale blue eyes. Dressed in a baby-blue uniform, and having an air of superiority around her, her entire countenance screamed of aristocracy.

Next, was a man who looked almost too old to be a student. He stood next to the fireplace, his uniform being in dark colours and having lots of fur in it. He had dark hair, and his nose looked like it had been broken at least once. But his eyes showed a keen intellect that proved that he was not the brute his appearance otherwise indicated.

Lastly, standing next to a window, was the third and last champion. Dressed in a black robe, with black dress shoes, dress trousers, white button-up shirt with a collar, a dark vest and a black and yellow tie, the boy looked quite strapping. He had an open face, with grey eyes and dark brown hair. The first thing that came to mind for Takumi when he saw him, was 'pretty boy'.

Having finished his observations, Takumi stepped into the room. The first one to notice him was the girl.

"What is it? Do zey want us back in ze hall?"

Ignoring the question, Takumi stepped away to stand at the wall next to the door, making it so that he could see the entire room, having his back protected and could not be seen from the door.

Just a few moments after he had taken his position, hurried footsteps could be heard, and a man almost ran into the room, followed by a group of five other people.

"Extraordinary!" The man muttered. "Absolutely extraordinary! Gentlemen… Lady. I give you – as strange as it may seem – the _fourth_ Tri-Wizard Champion!"

The man pointed towards where Takumi stood. This caused some reactions amongst the three other champions. The taller one next to the fireplace turned towards Takumi, his face darkening as he looked him over. The pretty boy next to the window seemed split, as if he didn't really believe the man. The female on the other hand just gave a small laugh, before addressing the man.

"Oh, vairy funny joke, meester Bagman!"

"Joke?" The man, now identified as this Bagman, said. "I assure you, this is no joke. Mr. Potter's name came out of the Goblet of Fire only a few minutes ago."

The three champion's eyes widened in slight shock as they heard the name 'Potter'. The tall man were now frowning, while the pretty boy looked politely bewildered. The girl, on the other hand, looked slightly angry.

"But, evidently zair 'as been a mistake!" she said to Bagman. "'E cannot compete. 'E is too young."

Takumi snorted at that. The girl throw him a sour glare before turning towards one of those who had followed Bagman into the room. This person, a woman, stood at almost twice the height of a normal man.

"Madam Maxime! Zey are saying zat zis little boy is to compete also!"

Takumi felt a flash of anger at that. Little boy?! While he didn't know their age, ha was certain that he was at least a few years older than the other three competitors, and 'boy'? He was _married_ for Kami's sake!

The woman identified as Madam Maxime straightened her back, and looked down on the old man who had introduced himself as Dumbledore.

"What is ze meaning of zis, Dumbly-dorr?"

"I would rather like to know that myself, Dumbledore." An older man, dressed in a similar way as the taller champion, injected. "A _fourth_ champion in the Tri-Wizard Tournament? _How_ was he chosen, and _whom_ will he represent?"

"While I honestly don't know how he was chosen, Igor" Dumbledore began, "he will be representing Hogwarts…"

It was at that point, Takumi decided it was time to intervene.

"First of all, my name is not 'Potter'," he said with a scowl. "My name is Uzumaki-Ishimaru Takumi. Secondly, while I do not know how I came to be here, I know who I will represent, and it's not Hogwarts. I'm a Tokubetsu Jounin of Konohagakure no Sato" he pointed at his hitae-ate, "and that is the place I will represent. And lastly," he turns to the young woman who had called him a little boy. "While I don't know how old you are, _I_ am 21 years old, married, and has been to war. In no way, shape or form, am I a 'little boy'. Understood?"

" _C'est impossible!_ 'Arry Potter was born 14 years ago! You cannot be 21!"

"I agree," the man named Igor said with a growl. "If you truly are Harry Potter, then you are 14. So how did you put your name in the Goblet? Hmm? Answer me, child!"

Suddenly, an oppressive force filled the room. Those gathered there felt as if a massive weight had landed on their shoulders, and they all broke out in cold sweat. Except the one called Igor. He was on the floor, having trouble breathing as the majority of Takumi's KI were directed at him.

"You have no right to demand _anything_ of me!" Takumi said, glaring at Igor in anger. "I was forced into this, and if I could, I would leave right now. But since I have no idea of how to get home, I'm forced to stay here as of now. But let me make one thing clear; No-one here has any authority over me. I will follow your laws, as that is something that must be done, and I will listen to what you people have to say, as it's only polite to do so. But no-one here, and I mean _no-one_ , can tell me what to do! Is that understood?"

Everyone nods. Takumi stops his KI, and everyone can now breathe easy again.

"Good. Now, can we get this over with so that I can try to get a message back home?"

"Oh! Uhm, ***cough*** of course!" Bagman gathered his thoughts and began explaining. "The first task will take place on the 24th of November. The task is designed to see how the contestants will deal with the unknown. You will only be allowed to bring your wand to the task, and you will only be told what the task is a few minutes before it begins. That is all."

Finishing what he had to say, Bagman quickly left the room, throwing a scared look at Takumi as he passed him on the way out.

"So, now that that is done, I have a question. Where will I be staying during my time here?"

"Oh, if you follow me to my office, we can have you sorted." Dumbledore answered.

"Sorted? What do you mean by 'sorted'?"

"Well, to find out which house you belong to, of course!"

"And why, should I be sorted into a house? If it is something you do to your students, then it's not something I will do. Remember, old man, _I am not a student!_ "

Dumbledore seemed quite shocked at being told no, so much so, that he didn't say anything more. This led to the older woman behind him taking charge.

"Mr. Potter…"

"Uzumaki-Ishimaru Takumi. Takumi is my first name, while Uzumaki and Ishimaru are my family names. Ishimaru after the man who saved me, and Uzumaki after I married my wife."

"Very well. Mr. Uzumaki, we can have some of the House Elves clear out a guest suite for you, so if you follow me, I can take you to it."

"Very well, ma'am..?"

"McGonagall. Professor Minerva McGonagall."

"Very well, professor McGonagall."

Following professor McGonagall out, Takumi takes his time to observe the place he has found himself in. He could feel some weird type of chakra flowing through the school, pulsing, almost like a heartbeat. The school itself appeared to be an old stone construct, as far as he could see, and seemed quite large. It also had some strange phenomena's going on inside it. Some of the paintings appeared to be moving on their own, and so did the staircases. Memorizing the route they were taking, he soon found himself on what he believed to be the fourth floor, standing in front of a statue of a lion. Professor McGonagall turned to him and spoke.

"This is the entrance to the suite you can use. The password to enter is 'pride', but you can change it to something else if you want."

"Thank you, professor McGonagall."

Nodding, the professor turned and left. Turning towards the statue, Takumi decided to experiment a little.

"I want to change the password. Now, how do I do that…" he said to himself.

"Tell me the new password, and it will be changed." The statue answered, making Takumi jump, and his hands instinctively go towards the place his sword would usually be.

"A living statue? How..? Never mind, can you feel as well as talk?" Takumi said, after he had relaxed again.

"Yes."

"Ok… So, can you feel this?" Takumi asked, flaring his chakra.

"Yes."

"Ok, good. The new password will be 'Will of Fire', followed by a pulse of chakra. Understood?"

"Understood. New password set. Welcome, guest."

Stepping aside, the statue uncovered the entrance to a large room. Stepping inside, Takumi noticed that the statue returned to its original post, but looked like a regular door from inside the room. Looking around, he saw that the room he was in was some sort of sitting room. It had an open fireplace to the left, a three-man couch and two armchairs in the middle, and some bookshelves filled with books to the right. The wall direct across the room held two doors. Going over to one of the doors, Takumi opened to and found a large bathroom. The entire room was tiled with beautiful mosaic, and he could see the toilet and a shower from the door. To the left was a bathtub, large enough to hold at least ten people, and when he got closer, he saw that it was lowered partway into the floor, making the further part of the tub at least 4 feet deep, while the closer parts were only two feet deep.

Leaving the bathroom, he opens the other door and sees a stair going up. Ascending the stair, he comes to a large bedroom, with a double bed, walk-in closet, and a large window overlooking the grounds. Looking out, he can see a forest and a lake. On the lake, something that appears to be a ship lies moored. Leaving the window, he returns to the sitting room.

Taking a breath, he decides to attempt a summoning. Hopefully, where-ever he is, he could still contact the owls he was contracted to. Concentrating on who he wanted to summon, he bites his thumb to draw blood, before going through the hand seals before slamming his bleeding hand down on the ground.

" **Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"**

Immediately, he feels something is wrong. The summoning works, but takes almost double the amount of chakra normally needed. The room fills with a cloud of smoke, and when it has dispersed, an owl the size of a human stands in front of him.

" _Hoo, greetings, Takumi-san. Why have you summoned me?"_

"Greetings, Fukurômaru. I need you to send a message to Naru-chan for me via the toads. You see, about an hour ago, I was summoned to this place from Konoha, and according to the ones who summoned me, I'm bound to stay here for some time due to a contract. As such, both my wife and the Hokage must be notified, and since summoning works here, hopefully they'll be able to send reinforcement."

He takes an empty scroll from his weapon pouch, and quickly writes down a message with everything he had learned so far in it. Once he was done, he gave the scroll to Fukurômaru, who grabbed it and returned to the summoning realm. Sighing, Takumi hoped that Naruko and the Hokage would get the message, and find a way to send some people to him. Shaking his head, he went to get ready for the night, not looking forward to sleeping in a bed without Naruko.

* * *

 **In Konoha, moments after Takumi had disappeared**

Naruko just stood there for a moment, looking at the spot Takumi had disappeared from. She could feel the fear of never seeing him again starting to bubble inside her, but with iron resolve she crushed those feelings and took off towards the Hokage's Tower. As Kakashi-sensei had been inaugurated just a few days ago, the likelihood of both him and baa-chan being in the Hokage's office were high, which meant that she could report what had happened to both of them at the same time.

As she came closer to the Tower, she could see light coming from the Hokage's office. Quickly scaling the wall of the Tower, she came to the office window, and could see both Kakashi and Tsunade inside, going over paperwork. Opening the window, she jumps inside.

"Baa-chan! Kakashi-sensei!" She yells, only to have to duck the empty sake-bottle Tsunade had thrown on reflex when she had entered the room.

"Damn it, gaki! Don't do that!" Tsunade growled.

"Mah, mah, don't be so harsh, Tsunade-sama." Kakashi said with an eye-smile. "I'm sure my cute student has a reason for coming here, ne?"

"Takumi-kun has disappeared!"

This got their attention. Both Tsunade and Kakashi turned their eyes towards her and became all business.

"What happened?" asked Tsunade.

"We had just finished our evening spar, and was on our way inside when Takumi-kun suddenly froze. When I asked what was wrong, he said that it felt as if he was in fire. That's when I noticed that his body was slowly disappearing, as if it was made of paper that was slowly being burnt away. Takumi-kun deduced that he was being summoned somewhere, and before he could disappear completely, he promised to return and asked me to report to you what had happened."

Sighing, Tsunade leans back in her chair, putting her hand over her eyes, while Kakashi looks down, a deep frown on his face.

"Damn it…" Tsunade sighs. "As we don't know where he is, we can't do anything as of now. Our only hope would be for him to send a message to you via summon, and then go on from there."

"So we do nothing!?" Naruko exclaims.

"No, not nothing." Kakashi says. "We will give him a few hours, hopefully he will be able to send a message during that time. Afterwards, if there has been no message, I want you to contact the Toads, and hopefully, they can help. Until then, go home and get ready."

"Hai, hai, Kakashi-sensei…" Naruko grumbles, as she leaves through the window.

Sighing, Kakashi turns to Tsunade.

"Do you think we will be able to find him, Tsunade-sama?"

"I don't know, Kakashi." Tsunade said, shaking her head. "I can only hope we does, since any alternative would crush Naruko. Imagine, losing the love of your life, and not knowing if he or she was alive or dead. Hoping for the first, but fearing the second. At least with Dan and Nawaki, I had their graves and the memorial stone to go and grieve at. Naruko wouldn't even have that, only a file with the word 'missing' in it."

Kakashi could only silently nod in agreement. He knew all too well the pitfall that was grief. He had basically let his life go down the drain after his teammate Rin and sensei Minato had died, spending hours in front of the memorial stone every day. It was only after he had been able to talk to the resurrected form of Minato during the Fourth Shinobi War he had been able to put that behind him.

Silently, the old and new kage returned to the paperwork, hoping things would turn out for the best.

* * *

 **With Naruko**

Returning home after her meeting with Tsunade and Kakashi, Naruko was starting to feel angry. Not angry at Tsunade-baa-chan or Kakashi-sensei, no, but rather at her own inability to go to wherever Takumi now was. Reaching their home, she immediately began to search for anything she could possibly need if she were to reach Takumi. Empty scrolls, ink and other materials for Fuinjutsu were found and packed. Clothes for all types of climate, senbon needles, kunai, shuriken and ninja-wire was sealed away. Three first-aid kits and eighty yards of bandages soon followed, and at the two hour mark of her return home, she had basically turned the house upside-down.

Realizing that there was nothing more she could do at the time, she went out in the garden and looked up at the stars. Sending a prayer to the sky, Naruko is interrupted by a pop and a cloud of smoke. Looking over, she sees on of Mt. Myôboku's messenger toads.

"Ah, Kôsuke, what are you doing here?"

" _I bring a message from the Owl Clan. Takumi is okay, and he sends this scroll with information on what he has learned."_ The toad, Kôsuke, says, and hands over a scroll to Naruko.

Grabbing the scroll, Naruko quickly unfolds it, and reads what it says. At first, she is happy that Takumi is okay, but then she learns that the time moves differently where he is, and that the 14 years he had been in Konoha was only 7 there. Continuing reading, she learns that her love is forced to stay there and compete in some sort of tournament due to a weird contract. Add to the fact that said tournament would take almost a year to complete in that place's time (meaning almost two years for her), and she is livid.

After thanking Kôsuke, she shunshined to the Hokage's office, where Tsunade and Kakashi are still doing paperwork, in order to tell them the news. Quickly telling them that Takumi had been able to contact her, she hands over the scroll for them both to read. They react in a similar way to how she did, and soon, they are in a heated discussion on what to do.

They all agreed on that they should try to send a team to back Takumi up, but they couldn't agree on who to send, or how. The how was solved when Naruko summoned the elder toad Fukasaku, who told them that it could be done, but to do so would require the team being sent to enter a travel toad, said toad to go to the Owl Clan, and the Owl Clan to take the toad before reverse summon to the place Takumi was. A bit convoluted, but doable. Thanking Fukasaku, Naruko writes a message to Takumi, telling him that she would come to him as soon as possible, and asks Fukasaku to make sure it's delivered to Takumi. Fukasaku takes the message and promises to see to it, before de-summon himself.

Now, there were only the question on who to send. Naruko was a given, as she was not only one of the strongest in the village, but also Takumi's wife. Kakashi wanted to send Sakura with her, but Naruko disagreed vehemently. While they were polite towards one-another, Sakura had never forgiven Naruko for killing Sasuke in the aftermath of the war. Sakura's feelings towards Naruko became even worse after her marriage with Takumi, as Sakura felt it unfair that Naruko could marry the one she loved after killing Sasuke, whom Sakura still had a crush on.

Naruko agreed with Kakashi's decision that a medic should be included, but would prefer it to be Shizune or Tsunade, rather than Sakura. Their argument on which medic to send was ended when Tsunade declared that she would go, as she was not only the best medic, but also as a previous Hokage, she could represent Konoha the best.

Kakashi bowed to her decision, and Naruko smiled at Tsunade, her eyes showing how grateful she was. Now, only the last member of the team was to be decided. After more than an hour of arguing, they came to the conclusion that Hyuuga Hinata would be the best choice to join the team. Her skills spoke for themselves, and her Byakugan would be of great help in many situations.

Having finally decided who was to be on the team, they decided to go in the late afternoon/early evening the next day. That would give everyone enough time to get ready, and, if Takumi's claim on how time moved slower there was correct, it would get them there early in the morning.

As nothing more could be done, except wait, Naruko returned home, where she fell into fitful sleep.

* * *

 **At the border between the Toads and the Owls, minutes after Fukasaku had left**

" _I see…"_ an old owl said. _"We'll make sure Takumi-san gets the message as soon as possible, and we will prepare the means to help you get to him."_

" _Thank you, Fukuraku-san."_ The toad answered.

" _No need to thank me, Fukasaku-san. While our clans haven't always seen eye to eye, we sages must see beyond such trivial things. And besides, it wasn't only the shinobi world your summoner saved, but ours too. As such, helping her is the least we can do."_

" _All the same, I am thankful for your help. Until next time, Fukuraku-san."_

" _Until next time."_ Fukuraku answered, and with that, the two old sages went their separate ways.

* * *

 **Konoha, the next day**

After she had woken up and had breakfast, she went to the Hyuuga compound in order to talk to Hinata. The Hyuuga heiress had always been a good friend of hers, and after the war, she had become a good friend to Takumi too. After telling Hinata what had happened, the Hyuuga gave Naruko a hug, telling her that everything was going to be alright, and that she (Hinata), would do anything in order to help. Thanking Hinata, Naruko told her that they were going to attempt to reach Takumi later that day, and that she, Hinata and Tsunade had been chosen as the team to go.

Hinata immediately began gathering whatever gear she would need, and seeing Hinata pack made Naruko remember that she had forgotten to pack Takumi's katana. Announcing that she had forgotten something, Naruko attempted to quickly leave, but in her haste, she tripped on her own legs. Giving a small laugh at the sight, Hinata told her that she understood, and that she would come to her house when she was done, so that they could wait for the time to leave together.

Giving Hinata another hug, she left the Hyuuga compound so that she could get the last thing ready before they were set to leave.

The rest of the day went by slowly, but finally, the time came for them to leave. They had gathered in an empty training ground, and Naruko was just about to summon a travel toad and Fukasaku.

" **Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"**

With a poof, Fukasaku arrived. Believing the summoning of the travel toad had failed, the rest of the group looked at Fukasaku when they noticed a small toad (i.e. a normal sized toad, about the size of an adult's palm) sitting on his shoulder, the same way he had used to sit on Jiraiya's. After greeting Fukasaku, the old toad told the three kunoichi's to stand close together in front of him. Once they had gotten into position, he nodded towards the smaller toad, which in turn opened its mouth and somehow _sucked_ in the three females into itself.

Giving the shocked Hokage a final nod, Fukasaku returned to the summoning realm with the travel toad, in order to make sure it were to arrive as it should.

* * *

 **Hogwarts, morning, November 1** **st**

Waking up in an unfamiliar bed, in a place he didn't recognize, had Takumi on high alert from the moment his eyes opened. For a few seconds, he didn't know where he was, but then the memories from the night before came back. Sighing, he went to get up, before he saw a scroll on the table. Picking up the scroll, he saw that it was from Naruko. Opening it up, he read the content, and smiled. Hopefully, he would soon be joined by his wife and two others from Konoha, which meant that once he was free from that 'contact', he would be able to return home.

Looking out at the sun, he would estimate that it was somewhere between seven and eight in the morning, so he decided to get ready for the day. Picking up his clothes, he went down to the bathroom in order to get ready. Once he had finished showering, he dried and dressed himself, only to discover that his weapon pouch was gone. Frowning, he decided _not_ to raise any fuss about it, as Naruko would most likely bring his gear with her.

Leaving the suite, Takumi walks back the way he was led yesterday. On his way, he sees several groups of children, all going the same way. He decides to follow one such group, and soon arrives at his destination. As the hall was now filled with light, he could easily see the entire hall. Four large tables, each decorated in different colours, stood in the hall, pointing towards the far end, where a fifth table stood. The students sitting at the tables, all had clothes whose colours corresponded with the colours of the table they sat at. He deduced that the colours represented these 'houses' that the old man had spoken of yesterday.

Looking around, he decided to sit at the table which colour scheme most reminded him of Naruko. Gold, for her hair and red, for the blush she spotted every time they were intimate. Thus, he sat down at the Gryffindor's table.

As he sat down, food appeared before him. He noticed that most of the food was very fatty and unhealthy, but he saw enough low-fat food to at least have his fill. The only problem was that it would be a very dry breakfast, as the only thing to drink was some sort of juice that almost made him vomit at the smell of it.

Picking up some toast and some scrambled eggs, Takumi began to eat as the hall slowly filled with people. As he had chosen to sit as close to the end of the table as possible, he didn't have to worry about getting boxed in by nosy students, but he was still somewhat irritated by the constant staring and the whispers. Only two students sat down next to him. The first was a pudgy, brown-haired boy with a nervous disposition, and the second was a bushy-haired girl that carried a large book bag. They introduced themselves as Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger.

Granger came off as a book-smart, know-it-all, with an unhealthy belief that authority figures could never be wrong. Longbottom, on the other hand, seemed to be a nice boy, if a bit shy. He also seemed to have a very low self-esteem, but Takumi decided not to pry into it. He _did_ however decide that he would help the kid becoming surer in himself, as that would be a good trial-run for his hope of becoming a Jounin-sensei.

Suddenly, there was a flutter of wings, and a horde of owls descended on the hall, every single one carrying something. The owls started to land in front of the students, who took what the owls were carrying, before they took off again. Well, all except one owl, who honed in on Takumi, dropped what it was carrying in front of him, and then exploded into smoke. Many of the students, and some of the teachers, noticed the owl exploding, and were now staring at Takumi, who in turn stared at the toad which now sat on his plate.

Meeting Takumi's eyes, the toad croaked before it turned away and _spat_ out three figures right next to the table. The entire hall as now watching the scene, as three figures emerged from a toad. The first was a blond woman, with her hair in two loose pony-tails and a diamond shaped mark on her forehead. She was dressed in heeled sandals, dark grey pants, a grey kimono style blouse held together by a wide blue-grey obi and a grass-green haori with a kanji on the back.

The second figure was also a female. This female had long, purple hair and pupil-less, lavender eyes, which caused many to believe she was blind. She had also heeled sandals and dark grey pants, but had a purple and white jacket on and a bandana similar to the one Takumi had, tied around her neck.

The third was also a female. She has long, golden blond hair tied up in two pigtails, clear sky blue eyes and three whisker-like marks on each cheek. Unlike the other two, she had normal sandals on her feet, black pants, a white shirt that strained over her sizably bust, and a deep red coat with flame-like pattern on the bottom. As soon as she saw Takumi, she jumped him and gave him a kiss. He returned the kiss before he stood up, gave the purple haired girl a bright smile and a quick bow to the older woman. No-one saw the toad disappear, and no-one really noticed the three persons moving down the hall from the teachers table.

That is, until a voice spoke up.

"What in Merlin's name's going on here?!"

* * *

 **And this is where I chose to end the chapter. First, to clear one thing up: The reason for the owl to fly in and drop off the toad, rather than appear next to Takumi, is because Hogwarts wards scrambles the way the summon arrived there. When Takumi summoned the owl, he used his chakra to pull the owl to him, making it appear next to him. Without that chakra, the owl can only appear in the general vicinity of him, and the wards make any pinpoint accuracy impossible.**

 **Anyway, the next story to be updated will be Child of Light and Madness, which will happen within a few weeks.**

 **Until then, enjoy.**

 **Baleygr**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm sorry this chapter took more time than I first said, but reality cannot be denied and I was unable to write for a couple of weeks.**

"English"

' _Japanese/Naruto-verse language"_

' _Thoughts'_

" **Spells and Jutsu"**

 **Chapter 3**

It had been a stressful 24 hours for Minerva McGonagall. First, making sure no-one did something unwanted with the Goblet of Fire, then the drawing of champions from said Goblet the night before and the summoning of someone who was thought to be dead. The arrival of a young man directly after the name of Harry Potter had come out of the Goblet had been a shock, but for said man to claim that he had once been named Harry Potter was even more shocking. Especially since the man appeared to be almost a decade older than he should be, if he was indeed Harry Potter.

So, after spending the night reflecting on what had happened, she arrived at the Great Hall, tired, and more strict than usual. After two cups of tea, she started to feel a bit better. She was on her fifth cup when Harry – or Takumi, as his name was now – entered the great hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table. Just a few minutes later, the mail arrived and an owl dropped something in front of Harry/Takumi. At first, she didn't pay it any attention, but then a large cloud of smoke covered that part of the Great Hall, and she – along Professors Flitwick and Sprout – started to observe the spot the smoke had appeared in.

At first, she couldn't see anything, but as the smoke cleared, she began to see the silhouettes of three people. Once the smoke was gone, she could see who it was that had come there in the smoke.

All three of the newcomers were women. The first was a young woman in the late teens or early twenties. She had brilliant blue eyes and deep yellow hair, similar in colour to a dandelion, in a ponytail. She wore black trousers, some strange fishnet like shirt with a black tank top on top and a deep red coat with black flame-like pattern around the bottom. Around her forehead, she wore a bandana with a metal plate on, similar to what Harry/Takumi wore.

The next was also a young woman of similar age. She had dark hair that seemed almost purple when hit by light. As Minerva studied the young woman's face, she frowned. The girl had completely white eyes… was she blind?

Leaving that though aside for now, Minerva continued to scrutinize the woman. She, too, had dark trousers, but unlike the first woman, she wore a lavender coloured jacket that was closed up to the sternum, leaving just a slight hint of cleavage. She also had her bandana around her neck, rather than her forehead.

The last woman was of indeterminate age. She could be 30, she could be 50. It was hard to tell. She had honey-brown eyes and light blond hair that was kept in two pigtails with two bangs framing her face. On her forehead was a diamond shaped, purple marking of some sort. She wore grey pants, a grey bathrobe looking thing that was held together with a thick cloth-like belt as a shirt, and a deep green jacket on top of that.

Standing up, she, Flitwick and Sprout began to make their way down to the newcomers, when the younger blond woman spotted Harry/Takumi and jumped him, planting her lips against his. Shocked at this behaviour, Minerva spoke out loud.

"What in Merlin's name's going on here?!"

* * *

At the sound of the voice, Takumi and Naruko stopped and split apart, a small blush adorning both their faces.

"Oh, I'm sorry… I'm afraid I don't know your names..?" Takumi said to the three professors, while chuckling a bit embarrassed.

"I am Minerva McGonagall, the Transfiguration professor." The stern-looking woman answered. "This is Professor Filius Flitwick, our Charms professor, and Professor Pomona Sprout, our Herbology professor."

"Ah, thank you, professor. These here are my wife, Naruko, a mutual friend of ours Hyuuga Hinata and the former leader of our home, the fifth Hokage, Senju Tsunade." He points at each in turn. Turning to the three newly arrived kunoichi, he addresses them.

" _Ladies, these are some of the teacher of the school we are currently in. The stern-looking lady is McGonagall Minerva, who apparently teaches something called Transfiguration. The short man is Flitwick Filius, who teaches Charms (I have no idea what that is), and the last one is Sprout Pomona, who teaches Herbology, which I believe has something to do with plants."_

The three kunoichi all turn towards the professors and gives them a small bow. Well, Naruko and Hinata bows, Tsunade just nods her head in their direction.

"What was that language you just spoke?" McGonagall asked him.

"Hm? Oh, it doesn't have a name, but it is the language all speak at home."

"I see…" McGonagall took out her wand, and waved it towards the three females. They instantly took a defensive stance.

"HEY! What's the deal, lady!?" Naruko yelled.

"Don't worry, I was just making things easier for us."

"Wait, I can understand you now?"

"That is correct." McGonagall said. "What I used was a translating charm. It will only last a couple of hours, but should help until we can get you something permanent."

The three kunoichi relaxed.

"Now, since you are new here, you will have to come with me and meet the Headmaster."

"Very well." Tsunade said. "Lead the way."

Giving Tsunade a small nod, McGonagall turned and started to walk out of the Great Hall, the four Shinobi following her. As they walked through the halls of the castle, they tried to memorize as much as it as possible. Hinata had used her Byakugan in the beginning, but found that the magic that flowed through the walls, floor and ceiling of the castle made it impossible to truly see using it, as using it made it look like they were walking through corridors of constantly shifting forms and lights. They passed through what Takumi believed to be that same corridor twice, but from different directions each time, and on two different floors.

Soon, they came to a statue of a gargoyle and McGonagall stopped. Turning to the statue, she said; "Mars Bar"

The statue stepped aside, and a staircase leading up was shown. Walking up the stairs, they came to a door. Just as McGonagall was about to knock on the door, a voice called out.

"Enter!"

Opening the door, McGonagall stepped inside.

"Ah, Minerva. What can I help you with?" Dumbledore asked.

"Less than half an hour ago, we received three more guests for the tournament. Said three are from Mr. Potter's home, and as such, I thought it prudent to take them here."

"I see… Thank you, Minerva, you may leave."

Giving the Headmaster a slight bow, McGonagall left the room, leaving the four Shinobi with the Headmaster.

"Please, have a seat." Dumbledore said, whilst conjuring up three more chairs. Instead of answering him, Tsunade stepped forward and sat down in the original chair directly across from Dumbledore. Naruko took a step forward and stood behind her, with Takumi and Hinata flanking her. Dumbledore simply raised an eyebrow at their behaviour.

"I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the school in which you now are. Now, could you be so kind and tell me who you are, and why you have come here?"

Levelling her gaze on Dumbledore, Tsunade spoke up.

"I am Senju Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato and head of the Konoha Hospital. With me are Hyuuga Hinata, tracking and hand-to-hand specialist, who stands to my left, and Uzumaki Naruko, future Hokage and Takumi's wife."

The two kunoichi gives Dumbledore a brief nod as Tsunade introduces them.

"Now, what I would like to know, is why have you kidnapped a shinobi of Konoha?" Tsunade continued.

"Now, now, calling it 'kidnapping' is such a strong phrase. Harrys' name simply came out of the Goblet of Fire, thus it summoned him here, his home, so that he could compete in the Tri-Wizard Tournament." Dumbledore said with a jovial smile and twinkling eyes.

"Who in Kami's name is this Harry?" Tsunade asked.

"Harry was the name I had before I joined Konoha, Tsunade-sama." Takumi answered her.

"I see…" Tsunade said. "Then, answer me this, Dumbledore-san. Takumi was taken from his home and wife against his will, by an item he has never seen, to a place he has never been, and is being forced to remain here under the threat of death or crippling injury. How is that _not_ kidnapping?"

"Well, for it to be kidnapping, a nefarious purpose would have to be behind it, and that is not the case here. As for being forced to remain here, as his name came out of the Goblet, Harry is bound by contract to compete in the tournament, as he would be stripped off his magic, should he fail to turn up at the first task. As such, for his safety, he has to stay here."

Sighing, Tsunade leaned back in her chair. She recognized the type of person Dumbledore was. Due to his age, he believed himself to be better and more intelligent than anyone else, and thus didn't listen to any advice given. And since he was in a position of power, he believed himself above the law, and wouldn't hesitate to do anything, if he believed it was the right thing to do.

The former Elders and advisors on the council had been the same when she took over as Hokage. Fortunately, most of them had died in the war, and had been replaced with younger and far more altruistic men and women.

"And there is no way to break this…'contract', is there?"

"I'm afraid not," Dumbledore said, with a sad look on his face that just screamed 'fake' to the four shinobi. "Until the tournament is completed in June next year, Harry will have to stay here."

' _Which will give me plenty of time to mould Harry into a perfect pawn for me to use'_ Dumbledore thought as he observed the three interlopers of his plans. _'I have to find some way to break this, so-called marriage, Harry is in. He must marry a light witch, so that when he dies, the Potter fortune remains in the Light.'_

The four shinobi exchanged a look with one-another.

"Very well… So tell us about this 'tournament'." Tsunade asked Dumbledore.

"Of course. The Tri-Wizard Tournament is a tournament between the three most premiere magical schools in Europe, Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. There will be three tasks, spread through-out the academic year, with the first task a few weeks from now and the last task a few weeks before the end of the school year. The tasks will be watched by the schools and dignitaries from the different Ministries, and judged by the Headmasters/Headmistress of said schools, plus two government officials."

"I see… Very well. We will stay here during this tournament, and I demand to be on the judging panel as the former superior Takumi and recently retired leader of Konoha."

"But…"

"That is non-negotiable!"

Dumbledore gave out a sigh.

"Very well. Now, as the rule states that the only tool allowed during the tasks is a wand, Mr. Potter will have to get one. As such, after lunch today, one of the teachers will take him to Diagon Alley, where he will be able to procure a wand for himself."

Tsunade blinked.

"I'm sorry, but who is this 'Potter' you are talking about?"

"That would be me." Takumi said. "Harry Potter was my name before I came to Konoha."

Tsunade nodded in understanding before turning back to Dumbledore.

"Now, we need a place to stay while we are here."

"Of course." Dumbledore said. "I'll have one of the House-Elves prepare three rooms for you to use…"

"That won't be necessary." Naruko interrupted him. "I will be staying with my husband while we are here, so only two rooms will be needed."

"Ah, of course…" Dumbledore said, a brief look of discontent on his face. "The rooms will be next to Mr. Potters', so he can show you were they are."

The four shinobi gave Dumbledore a nod, and after Tsunade had risen to her feet, they followed her out of the office.

Watching them leave, Dumbledore sank back in his chair as soon as the door closed behind them. He was _not_ happy. Sure, the return of Harry Potter had been a godsend boon to him, the appearance of the three women was not. The simple fact that they had succeeded in coming here meant that young Harry had a way out. That caused him to lose one of the possible holds he could have had on the boy, since he no longer could keep him here with the promise to find a way to get him home, only to say that he was 'working' on it when asked.

Not only that, but Harry claimed to be _married,_ and to someone not proven to be 'Light' to boot! That wouldn't do… that wouldn't do at all!

Sighing, Dumbledore looked at his phoenix and asked.

"What should I do, Fawkes?"

The phoenix just thrilled in response.

* * *

It was a silent group that followed Takumi as he led them to where he was staying. The had all made a silent agreement not to speak of what to do until they were somewhere private, and had a barrier seal in place.

Once inside Takumis' room, Naruko quickly put up a barrier before they all sat down.

" _I take it you all noticed it."_ Tsunade began.

" _Yes,"_ Hinata answered. _"That man, Dumbledore, is the same as the former Elders back home. He also seems to have some sort of interest in Takumi-kun, and I don't think he has Takumis' best interests at heart."_

" _I've noticed that too."_ Takumi said. _"His reaction to Naru-chan being my wife, makes me think he's seeking some sort of control over me. What type of control, I do not know, but that's the feeling I get."_

" _There's no way in Yami's dark hole I'll let some beardy old bastard keep me from Ta-kun, 'ttebane!"_ Naruko exclaimed, before looking a bit sheepish.

" _It seems your verbal tick has come back again, Naruko-chan."_ Hinata said with a small smile.

" _Ehehehe… sorry."_

" _Anyway, while we are here, treat this place as hostile territory."_ Tsunade continued. _"While I'm not saying you should act as if we were at war, at least be careful and don't trust any adult. Hell, even take what the kids say with a pinch of salt."_

" _Hai, Hokage-sama!"_ the other three answered.

Looking at his wrist-watch, Takumi made a note of the time.

" _It's about two hours before it's time for lunch. Perhaps we should look around the school and familiarize ourselves with the area?"_

" _Sounds like a good idea."_ Tsunade said. _"Let's say we meet up again at the place we arrived in two hours, so we can eat before that wand business this afternoon."_

Taking down the barrier, they left the room and went on their way. Hinata and Tsunade on their own, and Naruko with Takumi.

 **Some time later.**

 **With Tsunade.**

She had been walking through the halls of the castle for almost 30 minutes, now, and so far she hadn't seen anything that was worth noting. Continuing down the hallway, she came across a room she thought she recognized. Looking inside, she smiled. It appeared she had found the medical area of the castle.

Stepping inside, she was met with a stern-looking older woman, dressed in red and white.

"Hmm, you don't seem to be injured, or having any form of sickness…" The woman said, waving her wand around a bit before stopping. "That can't be right…"

"Oh? What can't be right?"

"Well, according to my scans, you're almost as old as I am, but from the looks of you, you're only about thirty."

"Well thank you." Tsunade said. "My beauty is one of the things I pride myself on. Now, my name is Senju Tsunade, who are you?"

"Oh, sorry! I'm Madam Pomfrey, the assigned Healer here at Hogwarts."

"Nice to meet you. As I said, my name is Tsunade, former fifth Hokage of Konoha and current director of Konoha's Hospital. I was looking around the castle when I found this room, and thought, 'why not see how healing is done here?'. Do you have time to talk for a bit?"

"Yes, I believe I have some time right now. Why don't you come into my office and have some tea while we talk?"

"That sound nice." Tsunade said, following Madam Pomfrey into another room.

 **With Hinata.**

Having found herself outside, Hinata was walking along the shore of a large lake. Every so often, she would activate her Byakugan, and try to see if she could spot anything of note. So far, all she had seen had been in the lake. There were several creatures living in the lake, and there was some type of village in the middle of it.

But the only thing worth mentioning so far was the giant, octopus-like creature swimming in the lake. At first, she thought that perhaps Killer B, or the Hachibi had ended up there somehow, but as the creature came closer, she noticed that it didn't have the chakra network of a Jinchuuriki, nor was it made of chakra, like a Bijuu was.

Thus, she could only assume that the creature was completely natural, and was supposed to be there.

Turning away from the lake, she walked towards the forest she could see a few hundred meters away. She wondered what kinds of creatures lived in there.

 **With Naruko and Takumi.**

The couple had decided to go upwards in their exploration of the castle. That meant they now stood on top of the highest tower in the castle, looking out over the grounds. They could see Hinata move from the lake towards the forest, and groups of students moving between different classes. Leaning on the battlement, Takumi embraced her from behind, and Naruko relaxed into his chest.

" _This world feels weird."_ Naruko says.

" _I know. There is something in the air that shouldn't be there, and for all the hate and violence our world held, there is a darkness here that far surpasses anything I've ever felt before. Not even Kaguya or the Juubi held such a darkness inside them."_

Naruko sighs, and leans deeper into Takumis' embrace.

" _We can only hope our presence here doesn't cause unnecessary troubles, but…"_

Saying nothing, Takumi just nods, and the couple remains there in silence until it was time to meet Hinata and Tsunade again.

* * *

Soon, they were back in the hall where they had arrived, and sat down at one of the tables in order to eat. Looking around the table, they saw only a few things they recognized, such as two types of chicken and three types of sausages, but barely no vegetables.

Wondering how in Yami's black hole not everyone was obese with food like this, the four shinobi only took a small part of what they recognized, before agreeing to go hunt in the forest once they were back in order to avoid such fat and tasteless food in the future.

It was some thirty minutes later, when the short man from the morning, Filius Flitwick, came over to them and told them that he was the one who was going to guide them during their trip to Diagon Alley. Following him to his office, he explained how they were to travel there.

"We will be using something called the Floo Network. It's a method of travel that makes use of the fireplaces in wizarding society." He began. "By using a special powder, we can step into a fireplace anywhere that belongs to a wizard or witch, call out where we want to go, and step out of the fireplace in said location only moments later."

Pointing towards a pouch filled with a green powder, he continued.

"Take a pinch of that powder, and step into the fireplace. We are going to the Leaky Cauldron, which is the entrance to Diagon Alley, so clearly state its name, and throw the powder towards your feet in order to begin the travel."

Deciding to go first, Takumi took a pinch of the green powder and stepped into the fireplace. Declaring 'The Leaky Cauldron!' with a loud voice, he threw the powder down, and in a _fwoosh_ of green fire, he was gone. The trip was strange for Takumi. He could see flashes of several homes, some with people near the fireplace – _and were those two doing what he thought they were doing!?_ – before the trip suddenly stopped, and he stumbled out of the fireplace, into what looked like a dingy pub.

Turning around, he was just able to brace himself, before getting his arms full of his wife, as she flew out of the fireplace. A few moments later, Hinata stumbled out, followed by Tsunade and Flitwick.

After dusting himself off, Flitwick motioned them to follow him, and led them out the back of the pub. Taking out his wand and tapping on the brick wall, he stepped to the side as the wall opened up, revealing a hidden street.

"Welcome, to Diagon Alley!"

The four shinobi all looked out over the Alley, making sure they saw as much as possible of it. Turning back to Flitwick, they looked at him for direction of where to go.

"Our first stop will be Gringotts." The tiny Charms Professor said. "Gringotts is the wizarding bank, and as Mr. Potter has an account there, he will be able to get enough money to buy what is needed. The bank is run by Goblins, so please, try not to stare."

Following Flitwick through the Alley, they soon came upon a white building with 'Gringotts' in bold, golden letters on front. Moving up the stairs, they entered the bank, all noticing the scripture on the wall.

 _Enter, stranger, but take heed_

 _Of what awaits the sin of greed_

 _For those who take, but do not earn,_

 _Must pay most dearly in their turn._

 _So if you seek beneath our floors_

 _A treasure that was never yours,_

 _Thief, you have been warned, beware_

 _Of finding more than treasure there._

Flitwick led them to a teller in the back, and spoke to the Goblin.

"Greetings, Brother. May your gold ever flow…"

"And may your enemies fall at your feet." The teller answered. "How may Gringotts help you today, Brother?"

"With me today I have Harry Potter – though he now uses a different name – so a meeting with the Potter account manager would be needed."

"Of course. You do know that a test will be needed to prove he really is Harry Potter, don't you?"

"As should be expected."

"Then follow me."

The Goblin stepped out from behind the till, and led them through a pair of doors in the back of the bank. After about a minute, they came to an office, and after knocking on the door, the Goblin left them.

The door opened, and they entered the office.

"Greetings." Said the Goblin sitting behind the desk. "I am Axegrinder, the Potter account manager."

He reached into a drawer and pulled out a sheet of parchment and a dagger.

"Now, to prove that you truly are a Potter, please place some of your blood on the parchment, and we will know your closest family."

Axegrinder raised an eyebrow, as the black-haired male didn't pick up the dagger, but rather raised a hand to his mouth and bit down on his thumb, drawing blood. The male then swiped the bleeding thumb over the parchment, leaving a trail of blood behind.

The gathered people all looked at the parchment as it flashed briefly, before letters and words began to appear on it. Soon, they could see what it said.

 _ **Name: Uzumaki-Ishimaru Takumi (Formerly Harry Potter)**_

 _ **Father: James Charlus Potter**_

 _ **Mother: Lily Potter née Evans**_

 _ **Godfather: Sirius Orion Black**_

 _ **Godmother: Alice Longbottom**_

 _ **Wife: Uzumaki Naruko**_

 _ **Unborn child**_

The first six was expected, but the last one, was not. Naruko was the first to react.

"Eh? I'm… pregnant?"

Tsunade was on her in a heartbeat, a diagnostic jutsu at the ready. Running her hand over Narukos' lower belly, Tsunade checked and double-checked, before confirming it was true.

"It's true. You are about 2-3 weeks pregnant, so I would set the due date sometime in late June to mid-July."

As soon as she heard this, Naruko hugged Takumi while exclaiming; "We are gonna have a baby!"

Takumi, still in shock, could only hug her back, while happiness bloomed in his chest.

"Congratulations, Mr. Potter." Axegrinder said. "Now that we have confirmed that you are who you claim you are, how can Gringotts help you today?"

"Huh? Oh, right." Takumi turned towards Axegrinder while still hugging Naruko. "Well, we need money, but we know nothing about what currency you use, nor do we have any idea about how much money we would need for our trip to the Alley."

"I see." Axegrinder nodded. "The currency used by the magical world are called Knuts, Sickles and Galleons.

He picked out three types of coins.

"This one here," he held up a bronze coin, "is the Knut. It's the lowest of the currency, and there are 29 Knuts to the Sickle, which is the next step up."

This time, he held up a silver coin.

"This is the Sickle, and there are 17 Sickles to the Galleon, which is the gold coin, and the highest form of our currency. Now, if you are to shop in the Alley, I would suggest no less than 300 Galleons, as it would cover most expenses."

Looking at each other, the four shinobi nodded.

"Thank you, Axegrinder, that would be excellent." Takumi said.

Nodding, Axegrinder rang a bell, and moments later, another Goblin entered the office. Looking at the Goblin, Axegrinder spoke to him.

"Leatherbeak, prepare a purse with 300 Galleons from the potter account, and bring it here."

"Yes, Master Account manager." The Goblin, Leatherbeak, said, before leaving.

Turning back to Takumi and the rest, Axegrinder spoke again.

"Unless there are something else, your gold will be here in about a minute, and then our business for today will be concluded."

"No, nothing more." Takumi said. "Thank you, Axegrinder."

"Of course, Mr. Potter. And, congratulations, again."

Not long after that, Leatherbeak returned with a purse filled with coins, and the group was led out of the bank.

"Well, now that that is done, it's time to get you a wand, Mr. Potter." Flitwick said as he led the way again.

Soon, they stood in front of a rickety building with a sign that said:

 _ **Ollivanders Wands**_

 _Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C._

Stepping inside, the four shinobi immediately went on high alert, as they could feel a presence close to them, but were unable to see anything. That was when Ollivander himself appeared. Unfortunately, he decided to appear behind Naruko and was thus almost impaled by a kunai wielded by a high-strung Takumi.

Fortunately, Takumi was able to stop himself only a fraction of an inch before killing the wandmaker, but he still scared the living daylight out of Ollivander.

"Well…" Ollivander said, holding his chest in fright. "That was new…"

"Sorry." Takumi said. "But you appeared behind my wife, and, well…"

"No worry, young one." Ollivander said, before mumbling to himself; "Perhaps I should stop doing that…"

Ollivander looked around and spotted Flitwick.

"Ah, Filius Flitwick. Aspen wood and Unicorn hair, 7 ¾ inches. I hope it still works as good as it did when it choose you?"

"That it does, Garrick. That it does." Flitwick said with a chuckle. "But Mr. Potter here needs a wand, so if you could be so kind…"

"Of course." Ollivander said, turning towards Takumi. "Ah, Mr. Potter. I almost expected to never see you in this shop, when you didn't come here in '91. I remember when I sold your parents wands. Your fathers' wand was mahogany and dragon heartstring, 11 inches, while your mothers' was willow and unicorn hair, 10 ¼ inches. Let's see what is fit for you."

Ollivander vanished into the back of his shop, and returned a few minutes later with his arms filled with boxes. Setting the boxes down on a table, he picked a wand and handed it to Takumi.

"Oak, and dragon heartstring. Go on, give it a swish." He said, motioning Takumi to wave it.

Shrugging his shoulders, Takumi gave the wand a wave, and almost dropped it as the windows exploded outwards.

"Nope, not that one." Ollivander said, taking the wand from his hand. "Hm, this one. Holly, phoenix feather. Give it a try."

Taking the new wand, Takumi waved it a bit more carefully this time. This time, nothing exploded, but the wand almost seemed to melt in his hand, becoming all flaccid, like it was made of cloth rather than wood.

"I've never seen that happen before." Ollivander said as he looked at the wand in interest. "Not to worry, there are plenty of wands in here."

Over the next couple of hours, Takumi tried wand after wand, but none of them worked at all.

"This is fascinating!" Ollivander exclaimed. "In all my years, I've never encountered a customer I can't find a wand for!"

The wandmaker looked almost giddy in anticipation.

"For you, Mr. Potter, I will have to custom make a wand. And for that I will need you to come into the back of my shop so that I can match you to the type of tree needed for that wand and what core to use."

Following Ollivander into the back of the shop, they stopped at three doors.

"Inside these rooms are the materials I use to craft the wand in my shop." Ollivander explained. "What I want you to do, Mr. Potter, is to enter the first two rooms in order to find the wood and core needed for your wand, and then bring the materials into the last room, where I will craft the wand."

Nodding, Takumi stepped into the first room, and found it filled with different types of wood. Not knowing what to do, he looked around until his eyes fell upon a piece of wood in the back. Feeling somewhat drawn to the wood, he walked closer and picked it up. The piece of wood felt warm to the touch, and there was nothing else in there that caught his interest, so he left the room.

"Ah, I see you have found the wood needed." Ollivander said as Takumi came back outside. "And… Oh, my. Cherry wood from a tree that grew at a shrine in Kyoto, Japan."

"Is there something special about that wood?" Naruko asked.

"Oh, yes. Wood from a Cherry tree is rarely used outside of Japan when it comes to wands, and the tree itself represent Rebirth and Purity. Now, let's see if you can find the core for your wand, Mr. Potter."

Nodding, Takumi stepped into the next room, where every wall was covered in shelves, that in turn was filled with jars containing different materials. As soon as he entered, he felt drawn to two sides of the room. On one side, there was a jar containing a golden feather that seemed to spark on its own, and on the other, a jar that seemed to contain some type of blue-green hair. Grabbing both jars, he stepped out again.

"Oho, two cores? Now, aren't you an interesting customer!" Ollivander said with glee, as he saw what Takumi had brought. "Tail-feather of a Thunderbird and hair of a Naiad, interesting…"

"What do you mean, 'interesting', Garrick?" Flitwick asked.

"The feather a Thunderbird will make the wand powerful, but hard to master, and will be perfect for transfiguration, while the hair of a Naiad will make the wand harder to control in the beginning, but once the wand is mastered, it will steady the flow of magic through the wand, giving its master the ability to cast more powerful spells at a lesser cost of magic."

Ollivander now looked like a child at Christmas.

"Now, if you could put the materials in the last room, Mr. Potter, I will begin to craft your wand. It will take some time, but I will bring it to Hogwarts myself once it is finished. Now, the cost of the wand will be 35 Galleons, as the materials are very rare to come by."

Handing the money over to Ollivander, the group left the wand-shop and floo'ed back to Hogwarts from the Leaky Cauldron. Having spent almost four hours at Ollivanders, it was soon time for dinner. Leaving the castle, they entered the Forbidden Forest in order to hunt, and soon came upon a wild boar.

Killing the animal, they skinned and gutted it before cooking it over an open fire. Once they had eaten, they returned to the castle and turned in for the night. Holding each other, Takumi and Naruko went to sleep with smiles on their faces, as they thought about the child that their love had produced.

* * *

 **And that's it for this chapter. Next to be updated is 'A Child of Light and Madness', but that chapter will be short as it will basically only cover the meeting between Sheogorath and Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, plus some notes about how the summer was for Halios, Seren, Neville and Hermione.**

 **All information about wands and their parts was taken from the Harry Potter Wikia. Only the specs for Flitwicks wand, the cores of James and Lily Potters' wands, and the Naiads' hair are of my own creation.**

 **Until next time, enjoy.**

 **Baleygr**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm sorry it has taken such a long time to update my stories, but I have a full-time job and the USB stick most of my works saved on suddenly stopped working. But now I'm back, and I'll try to update my stories somewhat regularly.**

 **AN: Sorry about this chapter taking longer than predicted, I had half the chapter done, then I hit a writer's block.**

"English"

" _Japanese/Naruto-verse language_ "

' _Thoughts'_

" **Spells and Jutsu"**

 **Chapter 4**

The next morning, Naruko and Takumi joined Tsunade and Hinata for breakfast. During the meal, they discussed what to do while they were at Hogwarts.

"So, now that we are here, we should gather as much useful information as we can." Tsunade began. "That being said, I will concentrate on learning as much as possible about the different types of healing they have here."

"I think that I shall try and learn as much about their culture as I can." Hinata said, before turning towards Naruko. "If you could help me with that, I would be grateful, Naruko-chan."

"Fine, but you know I hate reading, Hinata-chan." Naruko said with a pout. "And what will you do, Ta-kun?"

"As I'm stuck in this so-called 'tournament', I believe I shall use it as an opportunity to study whatever skills they teach in this school, Naru-chan."

"Then we have a plan to follow." Tsunade said, finishing up her food. "We go about learning about this place, and we update each other on what we have learned during breakfast."

" _Hai, Godaime-sama!_ " the three Shinobi answered (well, Takumi and Hinata said that, Naruko called her _baa-san_ , as always).

Leaving the sitting room, they all split up, going their separate ways for the day. Tsunade went to the infirmary in order to speak some more with Madam Pomfrey. Hinata and Naruko went in search for the library, despite Naruko's pouting. And Takumi went down to the great hall in order to talk to either Dumbledore or McGonagall about sitting in on some of the lectures while he was there.

As he entered the Great Hall, he noticed that most of those gathered there were reading a newspaper of some sort, and were whispering amongst each other. Stepping up to the head table, he approached Professor McGonagall.

"Can I have a moment of your time, McGonagall-san?"

"Very well, Mr. Potter. What can I do for you?"

"Ah, it's Uzumaki-Ishimaru, McGonagall-san, and I want to ask you about the possibility for me to sit in and observe some of the classes this school has to offer, from time to time."

"Very well, Mr. _Uzumaki_. While I see no problems with your request, we will have to speak with the Headmaster before I can say either 'yea' or 'nay'."

Standing up from the table, McGonagall nodded towards the exit. "If you could follow me, please."

Following McGonagall, Takumi walked through the castle until they came to the statue that led to Dumbledore's office. After giving the statue the password, they began to ascend the stairs, only to hear loud voices coming from above.

"…and I don't _care_ what you say! He is my godson, and you have no right to stop me from…"

A knock from McGonagall stopped the tirade.

An 'Enter!' came from inside the office. As McGonagall opened the door, Takumi took the opportunity to observe those inside.

Dumbledore sat behind his desk, eyes twinkling like usual. In front of the desk stood two men. The first man stood somewhat to the right of the desk. He had sandy blond hair and were dressed in well-worn clothes. From what Takumi could see as the man looked back when they came in, he also had some scarring on his face.

The second man stood right in front of the desk, apparently staring right at Dumbledore, and didn't even spare them a glance when they came in. All Takumi could see of this person was that he had shoulder-length, wavy dark hair, and were dressed in clothes of good quality.

As they entered the office, Dumbledore spoke up.

"Ah, Minerva, what can I do for you?"

"Mr. _Uzumaki_ here has requested to be allowed to sit in on and observe some of the lessons we have here at Hogwarts. While I see no problems with this request, as Headmaster, it is you who has to agree to or deny it."

"I see." Dumbledore said, leaning back. "And may I ask why you have requested this, my boy?"

"It's simple, really." Takumi answered, though his left eyebrow were twitching in irritation of being called 'my boy'. "I am at a disadvantage compared to the other competitors in the tournament, as they have years of experience in this 'magic' business, while I don't. So, by allowing me to observe some of the classes that you teach here, I will learn more about what to expect from this tournament."

As Takumi talked, the two men that had been in the office when they arrived, where looking at him. The scarred man whispered something to the other, and a look of hope entered the finely dressed man's eyes.

When Takumi stopped giving Dumbledore his reasoning for wanting to observe the classes they had at Hogwarts, the finely dressed man spoke before Dumbledore could.

"Harry?"

Blinking, Takumi turned towards the men.

"My name is Takumi. I haven't gone by the name Harry in 14 years."

The man suddenly hugged Takumi, shocking the Shinobi with his action.

"Umm, why are you hugging me?" Takumi asked.

The man stopped hugging him, and stepped back, looking at him with teary eyes.

"My name is Sirius Black, and I am your Godfather."

"Godfather..?" Takumi turns towards Dumbledore. "Dumbledore-san, can I have the answer for my request, please?"

"I will allow you to observe some of the classes here." Dumbledore said. "But please, try not to disturb anyone during them."

"Thank you, Dumbledore-san." Takumi says with a bow, before turning back to Sirius. "Black-san, if you follow me, we can go somewhere and talk?"

"Of course! Please, I really wishes to learn more about my Godson." Sirius hastily says.

Bowing slightly towards Dumbledore and McGonagall, Takumi leaves the office, followed by Sirius Black and the other man. Looking over his shoulder, Takumi addresses the other man.

"Black-san has told me who he is, but who are you?"

"My name is Remus Lupin." The man answers. "I'm a friend of Sirius and your father from when we went to school here at Hogwarts."

"I see…" Takumi said as he led the two men towards the suite he and Naruko used.

Once inside the suite, he indicated that they should sit down and talk. Takumi sat down in an armchair, while Sirius and Remus sat down on the couch opposite him.

"Now…" Takumi began. "You said you are my Godfather. If so, I have a question for you."

Sirius nods.

"Where were you?"

"Harry…" Sirius began, before Takumi raised a hand to stop him.

"Takumi. Uzumaki-Ishimaru Takumi. As I said, I haven't gone by the name Harry in 14 years."

"How is that possible?" Remus injected. "You disappeared seven years ago, and we knew you when you were just a babe."

Leaning back slightly, Takumi answered.

"Due to what I now know was accidental magic, I was transported to a different world, in which time apparently moves twice as fast. I was found unconscious in a forest by a man named Ishimaru Keiichi, who took me to the local hospital. Once I was well enough to leave the hospital, I was given a stipend to live on, and a small apartment to live in. I spent 14 years there, going to school, making friends, finding an occupation, fought in a war and got married. I was not happy, being brought back here, and if I hadn't found a way to contact my home, I would be _very_ annoyed.

So I ask you again, Black-san, _where were you?_ "

"Ha-Takumi, when your parents were killed, I went mad with grief." Sirius began, looking down in shame. "I hunted the rat who betrayed them down, but were outsmarted. When I cornered the rat, he loudly stated that _I_ was the one who had betrayed James and Lily, before using a spell to blow up the street, killing twelve bystanders and fleeing into the sewers.

Seeing the one responsible for the death of my brother in all but blood, and Lily, whom I loved like a sister, get away, broke me. I started laughing and crying at the same time, and when the Aurors – that is the magical police – arrived, I was arrested and thrown in jail without a trial.

I was only able to escape and prove my innocence a year ago."

Finishing his tale, Sirius closes his eyes, waiting for the verdict. Observing him for a few seconds, Takumi then speaks.

"Well, at least you have a valid excuse for not being there, and I can see that you are feeling regret due to it. And what about you, Lupin-san? Where were you in all of this?"

"Firstly," Remus began, "you should know that I am a werewolf."

"So you turn into a wolf creature every full moon?"

"That is correct." Remus nods. "Unfortunately, werewolves are seen as just beasts in the magical community, and there are many laws that makes our lives far harder than they should have been. It was those laws that stopped me from taking care of you when you were a baby. If I had pushed for custody over you, I most likely have ended up in prison, perhaps even executed, if the wrong people were in charge. I had hoped that I would have been able to find out which family you had been placed with, and visit you every few weeks, but unfortunately, I was never able to do so."

Sighing, Takumi closed his eyes.

"Both of you have good reasons for not being there for me, and as such, I forgive you."

Both Sirius and Remus let out sighs of relief at that, but then Remus's brain rebooted, and he remembered something Takumi had said.

"Wait a minute! 'Married'? You're married?!"

"Yes." Takumi says with a small smile. "Since only a few months back. My wife is here too, so if you stay, you will most likely meet her."

"Details!" Sirius says, leaning forward. "How did you meet? What's she like? How does she look?"

"We met when we were seven." Takumi began. "We were neighbours, you see, and over time we became best friends. As a child, Naruko was quite the prankster, and while she still enjoys a good laugh, she has mellowed out somewhat over time. And as for how she look like, well, she is on her way here, so you'll see in a few moments."

He could feel Naruko's chakra signature coming closer, followed by Hinata. They should be arriving within five minutes. After answering a few more questions ("What's the best prank she has done?" from Sirius and "What do you do for a living?" from Remus), the door opened and Naruko and Hinata entered.

"Ta-kun! We're back!" Naruko announced with a big smile as they entered. Spotting the two men, she asked; "Oh, we have guests?"

"Yes. This is Sirius Black and Remus Lupin." He motions towards the two men. "Black-san, Lupin-san, this is Uzumaki Naruko, my wife, and Hyuuga Hinata, a good friend of ours."

The two men stands up and greets Naruko and Hinata with a 'pleased to meet you'. The two women greeted Sirius and Remus back, Naruko with a smile and a wave, and Hinata with a small bow. Giving Takumi a quick kiss, Naruko sat down in his lap. Smiling slightly at the scene, Hinata sat down in the chair next to them.

"Ne, Ta-kun?" Naruko asked. " _Why_ are they visiting?"

Wrapping an arm around her, Takumi answered; "Black-san is apparently my godfather, and Lupin-san is an old friend of my mother and father, along with Black-san."

He could feel her tense up, so he quickly continued.

"Don't worry, they both has legitimate reasons for not being there when I was young."

"Oh? And what sort of reasons are they?" Naruko asked in a sweet tone that promised pain if she didn't like the answers. The two men swallowed at the tone.

"Well…" Sirius began. "I was in prison for a crime I did not commit, and were only able to prove my innocence last year…"

"And I," Remus continued, "were forbidden to take him due to some of the laws they have here."

Turning towards Remus, Naruko gave him a look that prompted him to explain a bit more. Once she had heard more about the bigoted laws that existed, she relaxed.

"I'm sorry I was so hard on you both, but I wanted to make sure you truly had valid excuses. Believe me, I know a bad excuse when I hear it." She finished with a dry smile.

"Yes, that pervert – good as he was – wasn't really the best choice, was he?" Takumi said, thinking back on Naruko's teacher and godfather, the super-pervert Jiraiya. Seeing the confused looks on the two men's faces, he explained.

"Naru-chan, like me, is an orphan, but _her_ godfather didn't really have a good reason for never checking in on her. Sure, he was a Spy Master, but still… couldn't he have used a disguise in order to get to know her?"

"Add to the fact," Hinata said, "that he had the habit of peeking on women whenever he had the chance, and you have someone who is truly unsuited for the role as a guardian to a child, especially a girl."

"So, he was like a worse version of Sirius, then?" Came as a comment from Remus.

"I'm not _that_ bad, Moony." Sirius whined.

"Perhaps not, but you _do_ try to flirt with almost every female you see." Remus answered in a dry tone.

The pouting of Sirius made the three Shinobi smile a little. They continued with the small talk for a time, until Naruko and Sirius ended up in a discussion concerning pranks, much to the amusement of the other three. That discussion continued until Tsunade arrived for dinner.

Sirius (of course) tried to hit on her, but a finger flick to his forehead stopped any further attempts at that. Sure, he was a ladies man, but having to spend a week in St Mungo's due to a finger flick that launched him into a wall, breaking most of his bones from the force of it, made him re-evaluate his thought on the matter. Tsunade might be a beauty, but her temper was worse than Lily's had been during that time of the month, so Sirius decided to not try anything when she was close by.

* * *

 **One week later**

Over the last week, Takumi had observed some of the classes that were offered at Hogwarts. So far, he had been to Astronomy (which was interesting, but useless in his opinion), Care for Magical Creatures (a useful class, to be sure, but not one he had any use for, as the creatures they learned about didn't exist back home), and History of Magic (and here he had though that Iruka's lectures were boring. Man was he wrong. This professor Binns made Iruka look like the most exciting thing in the world).

Right now, he was on his way down to the dungeon, in order to observe a potion class. Arriving at the classroom, he saw that the students stood there, waiting to be let in. observing the children in silence, he saw three things; 1) they stood in two distinct groups, one with red/gold ties, and one with silver/green ties. From what he had learned while at Hogwarts, the colours meant that it was a Gryffindor/Slytherin class he was about to observe. 2) There were clearly animosity between the two groups, yet only the Slytherins were antagonizing the others. When he had seen similar happenings in other locations of the school, both sides gave as good as they got. But not this time.

As the potions professor also were the head of Slytherin's house, he was most likely bias. That would explain why the Gryffindor's didn't rise to the taunts of the Slyherin's; they didn't dare to, since any reaction from them would cause them to be punished, not the Slytherin's. And 3) whoever made the house pairings was a complete moron. Putting the two houses that hated each other together in almost every class? Yeah, that's going to end well.

Not long after he had finished his observations, the door to the classroom opened and the professor, Snape, stepped out. He was about to say something when he spotted Takumi.

"Why are you here?" Snape asked with a sneer.

"I'm here to observe, Snape-san."

Snape looked even more hateful than usual at that.

"…Very well, but I do not tolerate any disturbances in my class." Snape says with an even larger sneer, before turning towards the students. "Well? What are you dunderheads waiting for? In. _Now!_ "

Following the students inside, Takumi took up place in a corner in the back of the room as to not be in the way. As the lesson went on, Takumi could see more and more bias from professor Snape. He praised the Slytherins for the most minor things, while berating and taking points from the Gryffindors for such things as 'breathing too loudly' and 'asking questions at the wrong time'.

About halfway through the class, Takumi was glad he didn't have to go to another potion class ever again. Then came a knock on the door. Grumbling, Snape went and opened it.

"Ah, Severus. Is Mr. Potter inside, perhaps?" Takumi heard a voice say.

"Unfortunately, he is, Headmaster…"

Using a quick shunshin, Takumi appeared next to Snape, scaring both him and Dumbledore with his sudden appearance.

"I'm here, Dumbledore-san, what do you need me for?"

"Ah, my boy, there you are. It is time for the Weighing of the Wands ceremony, so the champions are to gather and have a Wand Maker look over their wands to make sure no-one attempts to cheat. Each one of the judges will be there, as well as a representative of the Ministry and a journalist from the Daily Prophet."

"I see. Then I shall accompany you there." Takumi says before turning to Snape. "My thanks for allowing me to observe this class, Snape-san. It has been… _enlightening_ , I must say."

Snape just sneers and returns to the classroom, closing the door behind him. Takumi turns to Dumbledore.

"Shall we then, Dumbledore-san?"

"Of course, my boy." Dumbledore says with a smile and twinkling eyes, completely ignoring the irritated look on Takumi's face.

Moving through Hogwarts, they soon reached a room on the fourth floor.

"Here we are." Dumbledore said. "We are the last ones to arrive, so as soon as we enter, we can begin."

Nodding, Takumi opens the door and steps inside. When inside, he looks around the room. On the far side of the room, near the windows, stood the Hogwarts champion, Cedric something-or-another, if Takumi remembered right. To the left, near the wall, stood the Durmstrang and Beauxbaton champions, along with their respective Headmaster/mistress. Tsunade was currently sitting on a sofa in the middle of the room, drinking something (sake, if he had to guess). Opposite Tsunade sat a woman with wavy, blond hair, far too much make-up and dressed in a hideous snot green dress.

Behind her stood a man with a camera and two men who Takumi assumed was from the Ministry, as they had been there when he had first arrived some ten days past. In the far right corner, hidden from all but the most observant, stood Ollivander, his eyes gleaming with interest when he spotted Takumi.

"And here we have our last champion!" one of the men (who was dressed in yellow robes with black, horizontal bars on them) exclaimed. "Now, that everyone is here, I would like to introduce Rita Skeeter, who will do a small exposé on the ceremony."

"Perhaps not so 'small', Ludo." The woman in a snot green dress said, eyeing Takumi with a hungry look that caused both Takumi and Tsunade to have flashbacks to Orochimaru when said snake had found something interesting.

"Now," the man (Ludo) said, clapping his hands, "if the champions could gather 'round, then we can begin."

As the four champions came closer, he continued.

"In order to make sure no illegal wands are used during the Tri-Wizard Tournament, your wands will be looked over by a Wand Maker, and their stats will be logged, so that – unless your wand were to break – no wand except the wand logged can be used during the Tournament. And to that end, I would like to introduce Mr. Ollivander, owner of Ollivander's Wands, and the premiere Wand Maker in Britain."

Stepping out of his corner, Ollivanders sudden appearance scares those who didn't know he was there (that is, everyone except Tsunade, Takumi – who both know he was there due to being able to see him – and Dumbledore – the wards told him).

"Now, as I have a store to return to, perhaps we should begin. Mademoiselle Delacour, if you please?"

Delacour steps forward and hands Ollivander her wand.

"Hmm…" Ollivander says, as he inspects the wand. "Rosewood… 9 ½ inches… inflexible… and contains… oh, dear me…"

"An 'air from ze 'ead of a veela." Delacour interrupts him. "One of my grandmuzzer's."

"While I have never used the hairs of a veela in any of my wands – to temperamental, you see – if it works… _Orchideous!_ "

Conjuring up a bouquet of flowers, Ollivander the hands the wand and the flowers over to Delacour. "Your wand is in excellent condition, Mademoiselle. Gospodin Krum, if you will..?"

Krum nods and hands over his wand.

"Ah, one of Gregorovitch, if I'm not mistaken? His works can be recognized by the fact his wands are a bit thicker than usual… hmm, hornbeam and Dragon heartstring… 10 ¼ inches… quite rigid… _Avis!_ "

As the birds flew out the window, Ollivander nodded in satisfaction and handed Krum back his wand.

"Your turn, Mr Diggory."

Taking the wand from Cedric Diggory, Ollivander begins to speak.

"Ah, one of mine. Yes, I remember it well… the core is hair from a particularly fine specimen of a male Unicorn. He was 17 hands at least, and almost gored me with his horn when I plucked the hair from his tail. 12 ¼ inches, ash, pleasantly springy. I see it is well taken care of…"

"I polish it every night." Cedric says with a smile.

"Yes, I'm sure you do…" Ollivander says with a glimmer of laughter in his eyes. Conjuring up a fountain of wine from the tip of the wand, he then hands it back to Cedric.

"Now, Mr Uzumaki, it's time for your wand." Ollivander says and turns toward Takumi. Handing over a box, he then continues. "I finished your wand yesterday evening. Cherry wood from a holy tree, 11 ¾ inches long, flexible and with the dual core of tail-feather from a Thunderbird and hair from a Naiad. Go ahead, give it a swish."

Opening the box, Takumi looks at the wand. The wand has a slight orange tinge to it, and its grip is carved like the hilt of a kunai. Picking it up, he felt a warmth spread through-out his body, and the air suddenly smelt of ozone and rain. Flicking the wand towards the window, droplets of water flew out of it, and what looked like electricity jumped from drop to drop.

"Ah, excellent!" Ollivander said in glee. "You will find that, while the wand has a temperament, once you have truly bonded, nothing will be out of your reach. Now, let me give you some more information about the parts of your wand. The wood, as I said when you visited my store, comes from a holy cherry tree that stands in Kyoto, Japan. The feather was gifted to me by the last living member of a Native American tribe, which had guarded the feather for centuries. When the chief gave me the feather, he said that the spirits had told him that a man of water and lightning would come to me, and that the feather would help said man to become whole.

The hair, on the other hand, was found by my grandfather during a trip to Greece, almost 200 years ago. The locals told him that the pond he found the hair by, once was the home of a group of Naiads, but that the Naiads had disappeared over the years, and that the last time one was sighted was 10 years prior."

At this information, Dumbledore looked fascinated, the other two heads of school tried to look indifferent (but not really succeeding), the other champions looked somewhat intimidated, the two Ministry representatives was in shock, and that Skeeter woman looked like Christmas had come early.

"So, his wand is really powerful then?" She asked whilst brandishing a poisonous green quill.

"All wands are powerful, when wielded by their destined partner, but yes, on its own, Mr Uzumaki's wand is one of the most powerful wands ever created. While not up there with foci like the Elder Wand, or the Staff of Merlin, it still is one of the most potent foci in the world today."

Before anyone else could ask him anything, Ollivander turns to Takumi.

"I hope you are satisfied, Mr Uzumaki?"

"Yes." Takumi answers with a nod. "You have my thanks for your excellent work."

"It was my pleasure to be able to create such a magnificent wand." Ollivander says with a smile. "Now, if there is nothing else, I will take my leave."

Giving a small bow towards the gathered people, Ollivander then left the room.

"Well now," Ludo said, clapping his hands together. "Now that the ceremony is concluded, I wish you all a good day, and we'll see you again on the 24th."

"Pictures, Ludo! We must take pictures!" Skeeter interrupted him.

"Hmm? Oh, yes, right, pictures." Ludo laughed "Gather round everyone, so that Bozo here" he indicates towards the man with the camera "can take some pictures."

With some grumbling from a few people, they lined up for the shot. There were some problems with how they should stand so that everyone could be seen, but that was soon fixed. Madame Maxime, Beauxbatons Headmistress, sat in the middle, with Dumbledore and Karkaroff, the Headmaster of Durmstrang, standing on either side. The three champions were instructed to sit in front of their respective head of school, which they did. Delacour with a look of boredom on her face, Krum was simply brooding and Cedric had a somewhat empty smile on his. To their left stood Tsunade and Takumi. Takumi stood in attention, with a neutral look on his face, while Tsunade had (to the joy of most men in the room) crossed her arms beneath her chest, making her assets even more pronounced.

On the opposite side, to the right of the champions, stood the two Ministry representative, that Ludo fellow and a young man with ginger hair and glasses. It took some time, but almost two hours later, they were done and Takumi and Tsunade could leave.

Quickly leaving before that Skeeter woman could attempt anything, they both retired to their quarter, where they spent the evening relaxing with their friends and family (even though the only friend they had there was Hinata, as Naruko was Takumi's wife and Tsunade's adopted granddaughter/distant cousin).

A few hours later, Tsunade and Hinata left for their own rooms, and Takumi and Naruko went to bed. Before he fell asleep, Takumi decided that he would spend the next couple of weeks before the first task, practising as much as possible with his new wand. Having decided what to do, he hugged Naruko closer and let sleep take him.

* * *

 **And that's the end of this chapter. It's a bit shorter than the previous three, but the next chapter will most likely be longer again, since Takumi will sit in on a more active lesson, and the first task will take place.**

 **Next story to be updated is Child of Light and Madness, and that will happen before the 20** **th** **of June.**

 **Until then, enjoy.**

 **-Baleygr**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm sorry it has taken so long, but we've had a terrible heatwave for the last couple of weeks, making it hard to even think, much less write. And for those of you who think 'it can't be that bad', think again. Imagine living as far north as Anchorage, Alaska or in the middle of Hudson Bay, and have an average temperature of 30 degrees Celsius (or 87 degrees Fahrenheit, if you are in the minority that uses that), day and night, for almost a full month. That is not normal.**

"English"

" _Japanese"_

' _Thoughts'_

" **Jutsu/Spell"**

 **Chapter 5**

A few days later, Takumi decided to join a lesson in Transfiguration. Checking the timetables, he saw that the sixth year Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw group had a lesson that afternoon. Spending the morning with Naruko, they walked along the shore of the lake, just enjoying the day. After a filling lunch, Takumi went towards the Transfiguration classroom. He arrived there just a few moments before the doors opened and the students were let in.

Following the students inside, Takumi moved over towards a corner so as to not be in the way during the lesson. Professor McGonagall eyed him as he entered, but turned back towards the class as he stepped off to the side.

"Well then," she began, "today, we will finish with the Bird-Conjuring Charm, and then we will move on to human transfiguration. Now, if you would line up…"

She waited while the student came and stood in front of her.

"Each of you will have two attempts to cast the charm, and if you succeed, you will have passed this part of the curriculum." She looked over towards Takumi. "Mr Takumi, do you wish to make a try?"

"Yes, I believe I shall, McGonagall-san." He said after a moment of consideration. "If it's all the same to you, I would do my attempt after your students have finished theirs."

"Very well." She turned back towards her students. "When it is your turn, take one step forward and perform the charm. Mr Hickins, since you are to the furthest left, you will begin."

A boy with sandy-blond hair and grey eyes, his clothes showing Ravenclaw colours, answered with a 'Yes, Professor'.

"Then begin when ready."

Stepping forward, the boy took a deep breath before chanting ' _Avis!_ '. Three pigeons flew from his wand, circled the room once and then left through the window. McGonagall nodded as she noted down his success.

"Good, Mr Hickins. Miss Arklay, your turn."

The girl next to Hickins took a step forward and said the spell. She was only able to conjure a single pigeon, but as she had been successful, she was given a passing grade. One by one, the students took a step forward and performed the spell, with mixed results.

There were the normal pigeons, canary, crows and magpies, but also some strange birds mixed in. One student conjured a Bearded Tit, another got a seagull, and one confused student actually got an ostrich, though it was quickly removed by Professor McGonagall. Soon, each student had passed, and McGonagall turned towards Takumi.

"Mr Takumi, if you would..?"

Nodding, Takumi walked forward and stood in front of the class, which had all taken their seats again. Pulling out his wand, Takumi imitated what he had seen the class do.

"Avis!"

A cloud of smoke appeared in front of him, and once it had dispersed they could see a large, white owl standing in front of Takumi.

" _Oh? It's been a while, Takumi-san. Tell me, why have you summoned me?"_ The owl spoke, to everyone's but Takumi's shock, in a language they couldn't understand.

" _It's good to see you again, Yuuki-san, but I have to confess that I didn't mean to summon you."_ Takumi answered in the same language.

" _Hoh? Then please tell me why I'm here?"_

" _To my best guess? I just attempted a spell that was created to conjure up birds, but since I am a summoner of the Owl Clan, the spell summoned one of you instead of a random bird."_

" _I see, I see… Well, as you don't need any help at the moment, I will return home. But, please Takumi, don't use the spell again unless you truly need our help."_

" _I will take care as to not do so, Yuuki-san. Farewell for now."_ Takumi did a bow, and the owl Yuuki disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Takumi turned to McGonagall.

"I'm sorry about that, McGonagall-san. I would appear that my connection with the Owl Clan caused the spell to summon one of them, rather than conjuring a random bird or birds."

"You will have to explain that, Mr Takumi." McGonagall told him.

"Of course. You see, McGonagall-san, in the place I've lived the last 14 years, there exist something called Summoning Scrolls. These scrolls are given out by certain clans of sentient animals of different kinds. If you are lucky enough to find a scroll, or a member of a clan, you can be allowed to sign the scroll said clan holds. By doing so, you can summon a member of the clan in order to help you with different things.

Different clans have different specialities. The Owls, which I am a summoner of, specializes in aerial combat and intelligence gathering. Naruko on the other hand is a summoner of the Toad Clan, which specializes in all types of combat and infiltration – after all, who would notice a toad in a pond? Tsunade-sama is a summoner of the Slug Clan, and they specializes in support and healing, which fits her very well, as she is the premiere healer in the Elemental Nations. Of course, those are not the only clans. Some of the others are the Snakes, Weasels, Crows, Hawks and Sharks."

"I see… So the magic recognized your connection with these owls, and summoned one of them instead of how the spell was supposed to work?"

"That would be my guess, yes."

Shaking her head, McGonagall indicated that she had no more questions, and with a small bow he returned to the side of the classroom. The rest of the lesson went on as usual, and at the end, nothing else had happened.

After thanking McGonagall for letting him observe the lesson, Takumi returns to the room he and the three other shinobi uses to go over the days' events. Stepping inside the room, he saw Naruko laying on the couch, reading a book. Looking closer, he saw that it was The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi. Smiling, he could only shake his head at his wife's obsession with that book. Sure, it was written by her godfather, and her name was based on the main character's own, but he had seen her read that book six or seven times a year since they were fifteen, and not even Kakashi was that fixated on his favourite book.

As he got closer to the couch and Naruko, she looked up and gave him a bright smile before moving around so that he could sit down behind her, after which she leaned back again. Hugging her from behind, they just stayed like that while she continued to read for a while. Some thirty minutes later, Hinata returned and after greeting each other, she sat down in an armchair opposite them with a book of her own. Another forty-five minutes, and Tsunade arrived, which made Naruko and Hinata put down their books, and Takumi and Naruko to sit up straight while Tsunade sat down in the armchair at the end of the table.

"So," Tsunade began. "Has anything new happened that's worth mentioning?"

Naruko and Hinata both said no, but Takumi straightened before answering.

"Yes, actually. Today I observed a sixth year class on the subject of transfiguration. The class began with a test of a spell they had been studying the past weeks. This spell was called 'Avis', and allowed the caster to summon or conjure up birds of different types. I was allowed to attempt the spell at the end of the test, and did so. That is when I discovered something interesting. Apparently, there is some connection between chakra and magic, for when I attempted the spell, I summoned one of the Owl Clan instead of just a random bird."

"Interesting…" Tsunade said, with a pondering look on her face. "If the spell works like the magicals version of the **Kuchiyose no Jutsu** , could there be other crossovers between the two?"

"It's hard to say." Takumi answered. "I can think of two possible examples, both belonging to the same person, the Sandaime Tsuchikage, Onoki. First, his ability to fly. Sure, there have been several shinobi that have used different abilities to fly, such as Gaara and his sand, or Deidara with his animated clay sculptures. But only Onoki has the ability of unsupported flight. The second is his **Jinton**. Based on the little I know of it, **Jinton** seems to work almost exactly as the spell Evanesco, also known as the Vanishing spell, which works – according to the book – by turning its target 'into non-being, which is to say, everything'. Add to the fact that he was taught both of those skills by his predecessor, Mū, and you have a situation not that dissimilar to this school."

"So you think we should look into it?" Hinata asked.

"Yes. There is a saying that fits this situation; 'Once is an accident. Twice is a coincident. Three times is a pattern.'

Me using a spell to summon an Owl; that could have been an accident. But adding in the similarities between known spells and Onoki's abilities, and we have a pattern forming."

Tsunade nodded in agreement. "And now that you have mentioned it, I must say that during my talks with the medi-witch, Pomfrey, there have been several similarities between the **Shōsen Jutsu** and some of the low level healing spells, but I haven't really thought about it until now."

"So, to sum it up, there is a possible link between our Jutsu, and the spells these magicals use. And we should try and find out more about it?" Naruko said, and the others nodded. "Right then, how should we do this?"

Naruko, Takumi and Hinata all turned towards Tsunade, who sat there with her eyes closed, thinking for a while. After about a minute, she looked at them again.

"We will continue like we have done so far, but from now on, we will make sure to look for anything that could link Jutsus and spells."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama." The other three answered.

"Now, then." Tsunade said, looking at Naruko. "I would like to do a medical check-up on you to see how your pregnancy is developing, so if you could lie down..?"

Nodding, Naruko lied down on the couch, her hand firmly grasping Takumi's, while Tsunade did a check-up on their unborn child. It only took five minutes, and once it was done, Tsunade told them that the pregnancy was progressing as it should, and the foetus was in the correct stage of development. Thanking Tsunade, Naruko gently cradled her stomach, while Takumi hugged her from behind, both looking down on the spot their child was growing in with smiles of love on their faces. Tsunade looked at the scene with a small smile on her face, before she and Hinata left the expecting parents to their own.

* * *

At the same time, in the headmasters' office, Dumbledore was in deep thoughts, thinking about what he could do to make sure Harry Potter would stay in Britain and fulfil his destiny. When Harry had disappeared from his relatives house seven years earlier, he had spent many hours trying to find him, only to come up short. It was a boon when the Goblet had summoned Harry on Halloween, though the fact that he was older than he should have been was strange.

He had hoped that Harry would turn to him in order to get home, since that way he could say 'of course, but it will take time. During that time, perhaps you could help us with some things?', thus making sure Harry remained for as long as needed. And if he could nudge Harry towards a suitable Light witch who could carry his child, so that the Potter name and fortune wouldn't fall into the wrong hands when Harry ultimately died, taking Riddle with him…

But no, that blasted child found a way home by himself, even going so far as to bring allies to him! Worse, one of them claimed to be his wife! This could not be allowed to happen, the Potter fortune _needed_ to stay on the Light side!

So, in the late November afternoon, Dumbledore plotted and plotted, believing he had all the knowledge he needed to bend the situation back under his control, never knowing that the mere presence of one of the Shinobi had forced a new prophecy to be made, nullifying the one he had heard almost 15 years ago.

 **Flashback to November 3** **rd**

 _Up in her tower, the divination professor Sybill Trelawney had just sat down with a cup of her favourite 'tea', when she suddenly froze and spoke in a deep voice._

 _ **The one with the power returns,**_

 _ **Followed by the Golden Child of Destiny.**_

 _ **The Light and Dark seeks to control,**_

 _ **But the Power he knows not will not be bound.**_

 _ **When the Child of Wind and Lightning has been born,**_

 _ **The Fox, Toad and Slug will protect,**_

 _ **While the Lightning wipes the slates clean**_

 _ **Of past and Future Sins.**_

 _ **Balance is restored and Hope reborn,**_

 _ **When Wind and Lightning return Home.**_

 _Shaking herself from the trance, Trelawney went back to her 'tea', not knowing of the third true prediction she had ever made._

 **Flashback end**

* * *

A week passed, and it was time for the first task in the tournament. Takumi was sitting in the library together with Hinata and Naruko when McGonagall came to get him for the task.

"Mr Takumi."

Takumi looked up when his name was spoken. "Yes?"

"The first task is scheduled to begin in less than an hour. If you come with me, I will escort you to the area the task takes place in."

"Very well." Takumi said as he stood up. "Naru-chan, Hinata, I will see you both once the task is complete."

He then kissed Naruko goodbye and left with McGonagall. She led him out of the school and towards a spot on the far side of the lake. There, he could see a structure made of wood, about the size of the Konoha Chunin Stadium. At the part of the circular wall that was closest to the lake, a tent stood, and it was to that tent McGonagall led him. As they arrived, she turned to him.

"Now, the other champions are inside the tent, were you will receive the last information about the task, and in which order you will perform it." She motions towards the tent. "In you go."

Nodding towards McGonagall in thanks, Takumi stepped inside the tent and looked around. On the opposite side of the tent was another entry, leading towards the inside of the walled off area. Along the walls of the tent were benches, and on the bench to the left, the Hogwarts champion – Diggory, he believed the boy was named – looking slightly sick. Across from him, the female champion – Fleur or Flour, or whatever her name was – looking far paler than she usually did. The last champion – Krum, if he remembered correctly – was staring down on the ground with a deep scowl on his face as he paced back and forth near the exit.

Finished with his observations, Takumi stepped to the side and leaned on one of the wooden poles that were used to keep the tent standing. It was little less than ten minutes later that one of the men from when he was summoned entered the tent, smiling and looking like an overgrown kindergartener high on sugar as he bounced on his feet were he stood.

Behind him, another man entered, this one dressed in black and with a serious look on his face. As he came up beside the other man, he spoke.

"Ah, good, you are all here. That means we can begin. Gather around, please, and I will tell you what the task entails."

As Takumi and the three other champions approached, the man in black pulled out a bag of cloth (also black) and held it in front of him.

"The first task is to see how you fare when faced with the unknown. Inside this bag," he raised the bag for them to see, "are four models. You will each draw one model, and the model you draw represent what you will face in this task. Now, you don't have to defeat the thing you face, only retrieve that which it guard, and depending on how well you do, you will be scored accordingly. So, ladies first?"

He held out the bag, and Fleur (or Flour, Takumi wasn't sure which) put her hand down the bag and pulled up a green model of something Takumi didn't recognize, but could see had the number 2 around its neck."

"Ah, the Welsh Green, and you'll go second. Mr Krum, your turn."

Krum too put his hand in the bag and pulled something up. This model had the number 3 around its neck.

"The Chinese Fireball and on spot number 3… Mr Diggory, if you please..?"

The scene repeated, and Diggory pulled up a greyish-blue model with number 1 around its neck.

"The Swedish Short-Snout, and you'll go first. Now, while we know that Mr Potter… (queue a short burst of KI from Takumi, which caused the man to begin sweating) I'm sorry, Mr Takumi, will go last, we still need to know what he will face, so if you could..?"

Sticking his hand down the bag, Takumi felt something spiky and grabbed it. Pulling his hand out, he stared at the model. It was larger than the others, coloured in an ashen black and with dangerous-looking spikes along its back and tail. Its head looked very similar to the horned lizards that inhabited the deserts around Suna, only pointier and with teeth to match its spikes. All in all, it looked very dangerous.

"Ah, the Hungarian Horntail… The most dangerous breed in existence." Putting away the bag, he continued. "Each dragon will be guarding a nest of eggs, and amongst those eggs are a golden one. That egg is your goal. Now, in the next few minutes, the task will begin, and we will call you out in order for you to complete the task. There will be a ten minutes paus between each turn, so that the dragon handlers can switch the dragons and the eggs. The entry to the arena will be closed and warded during each turn, as to make sure no-one's cheating by spying on the competition. Good luck."

With that the two men left, one stiff and straight and the other one bouncing where he went. The champions all went back to what they were doing before the men entered the tent, but now, everyone but Takumi looked sick. He could understand their feelings, really. After all, they were school children. The most dangerous thing they had had to face before now was probably only a bad case of acne, or whatever animals they studied in that care for magical creature class.

He, on the other hand, had faced war, and even fought and died against an overwhelming enemy, only to be revived when Naruko had defeated Pein. While the dragon looked somewhat intimidating, he and Naruko trained regularly in the Forest of Death, so he doubted that the dragon would pose a large problem. He was broken out of his thoughts when Diggory approached him.

"Um, sorry to disturb you, uh, Mr Takumi, but I was wondering… How come you're not looking worried about facing a dragon?"

"It's quite simple, Diggory-san. I have been to war, and death is something we shinobi get used to very quickly, as from the moment we become genin – which is usually around the age of 12 – we are told that any and all missions that takes us out of our home village could result in our death, or the death of one or more of our friends. And, unlike you, I have not grown up with the knowledge that dragons and the like exist, nor have I heard any stories about them which could colour my perception of them.

As such, I don't see them as dangerous monsters, but rather like any other large animal, dangerous for a civilian perhaps, but not for a trained shinobi like me."

Diggory was about to answer, when he was interrupted by a voice from outside.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the first task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament! In this first task, the champions have tasked with the retrieval of a Golden Egg from the nest of a dragon! First out is Hogwarts own Cedric Diggory!" With this, Cedric left the tent under the cheers and applauds of the crowd.

"He will be up against a Swedish Short-Snout, so let's see how he does!"

Over the next 20 or so minutes, all they could hear from outside was the cheering of the crowd, the roars of the dragon and the commentary from the judges box. Every time the dragon roared, the other two champions got more and more pale, and it didn't get any better with commentary like; "Excellent use of transfiguration! Too bad it didn't work that well." "You better watch out, the Short-Snouts' fire is known to burn a tree to ashes in seconds, so you wouldn't want to get hit by it." Or "Ouch, that got to hurt! But he got the egg, let's see if he can get away with it! Aaaand… he did! Excellent work of Mr Diggory!"

Since Diggory didn't return to the tent, they could only assume that there was another place they had to go to when they had gotten the egg. The waiting for the next turn seemed to cause more distress in the other two champions than listening to Diggorys' try did. So, when the pause was over, and the next turn was to begin, it was a pale white and shaking female that went out to meet her dragon to the sound of the commentary.

"Next up is the lovely Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic! She will face the Common Welsh Green for her egg, so without further ado, let the task begin!"

Just as the last time, they could hear the crowd cheer, but this time there was basically no sounds from the dragon, making them wondering what she was doing. The commentary didn't give them many clues, however.

"What is she doing..? Oh, I see. A clever way to avoid getting close to the dragon, I must say. Let's see if it works."

It took almost fifteen minutes before something happened that made the commentary worth listening to.

"It would seem like Miss Delacour has finished her charmwork, so let's see what she does now. And she is approaching the nest, hope she doesn't disturb the dragon, though. She has the egg and is making her way away from the nest right… Oh, bad luck there for Miss Delacour, as some of the dragons' fire has hit her clothes, here's to her succeeding to put it out. Good thing we have an expert medi-witch on hand for things like this… And she has done it, ladies and gentlemen! Fleur Delacour has gotten her egg! Excellent show of the Beauxbaton champion. Now there will be another ten minute break before the next champion gets to try his luck."

As the minutes ticked by, Takumi observed Krum where he paced back and forth, waiting for his turn. While Krums' face never lost his trademark scowl, Takumi could see a slight trembling whenever Krum lifted his hands to rub his face in an attempt to calm himself. When his turn came, Krum took a deep breath and steeled himself as he exited the tent to the sound of cheers and the commentary.

"Our third champion, representing Durmstrang's School for the Magical Arts, is Quidditch star Viktor Krum! He will face a Chinese Fireball for his egg! Unfortunately, the only available Fireball was a bit smaller than normal, but don't let her size fool you. The Fireball is still one of the most intelligent breeds of dragons in the world, and should never be underestimated, no matter what size."

Closing his eyes, Takumi listened to what was going on outside whilst centering himself in preparation for his turn. From what he could hear, Krum had used some kind of spell that had hurt the dragon, making it move around and crush some of the eggs in her nest. It took some time, but Krum was able to use a large amount of curses and spells to drive the dragon away from its nest long enough for him to grab the egg and leave.

Hearing the commentator say that it was time for the last part of the task, Takumi strode towards the exit and left the tent. The arena was large and circular, somewhat bigger than the Chunin Stadium in Konoha, and made to look like a mountainous terrain (which made Takumi think of the mountain village of Kumogakure), and in the middle was the dragon.

As Takumi observed the dragon, he heard the commentator introduce him.

"And now, or final champion Harry Pott…" here he was forced to stop, as a concentrated blast of KI made him shit himself. A quick _scourgify_ fixed that, but those around him moved away due to the smell, and he continued in a strained voice. "I'm sorry. Mr Takumi Uzumaki-Ishimaru, and he will face the fearsome Hungarian Horntail for the egg. The Hungarian Horntail is the most dangerous breed of dragons in existence. With a size that almost rivals the Ukrainian Ironbelly, an intellect similar to the Chinese Fireball and fire that could match the Swedish Short-Snout, the Horntail is only made even more dangerous due to the spikes that grows from its back and tail. It takes an average of thirty wizards to subdue a Horntail, so Mr Takumi is up for a challenge."

It was at that point Takumi zoned him out, and concentrated on the dragon in front of him. He had to say, the model he pulled from the bag was far more accurate than he had first thought, and he could see why the Horntail was considered the most dangerous of all dragons. Deciding that it was better to be careful than overconfident, Takumi slowly moved towards the nest, keeping his eyes on the dragon the whole time. It was lucky he did so, for once he had reached the halfway point to the nest, the Horntail opened its mouth, and he had only a split second to react as a river of flames rushed towards him.

Jumping out of the way, he saw that the dragon was following his movements, and was rearing up for another blast of fire. Weaving some hand seals together he took a deep breath and said his jutsu just as the dragon attacked again.

" **Suiton: Suijinheki!"**

Spitting out a huge amount of water, Takumi was able to block the dragons' fire with the swirling mass of liquid. As the fire abated, so did his jutsu and once the steam had cleared out, everyone could see him standing there, unharmed. The dragon looked stunned when it saw her fire had done nothing to him, but just as quickly got a calculative look in her eyes and curled up around her nest, turning herself into a spiky, fire-breathing fortress.

Knowing that he could get the egg at any moment with the help of a K **awarimi** , Takumi decided to show off some of his skills a bit. Weaving a couple of hand seals, he declare his next attack.

" **Raiton: Jinraisen!"**

Making a motion as if to throw something, the crowd is shocked when a lightning bolt leaves his hand and hits the dragon. The Horntail hisses in pain, and breathes a gout of flames at him, but a short **Shunshin** to the left causes the flames to miss.

' _So the Jinraisen was mostly ineffective… It would seem like I need some more powerful techniques if I'm to do this.'_ Takumi thought, as he continued to observe the dragon. _'Perhaps I should try some Suiton techniques…'_

Thankful for the lake nearby, Takumi weaved all 44 hand seals for his next technique, in order to make it as powerful as possible. Once he was done, he declared loud enough for everyone to hear;

" **Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!"**

At first, nothing seemed to happen, but then a loud rumbling could be heard from the direction of the lake. The crowd looked towards the direction of the lake, but couldn't see anything yet. The rumbling got even louder, and with a roar of a massive amount of moving water, an eastern-style dragon made of water rose above the arena, causing the gathered wizards and witches to scream in terror.

Takumi let out a small smile as he made his water dragon attack the real dragon in front of him. The attack wasn't strong enough to penetrate the dragons' scales, but the sheer amount of water, and the speed it hit with, caused the Horntail to be launched away from the nest and into the arena wall. The attack had stunned the Horntail, and damaged her wings enough for her to be unable to fly.

Seeing the opportunity, Takumi created a **Kage Bunshin** , and they both began to weave hand seals in different combinations. Finished with the seals, they both spoke at the same time;

" **Renkei Ninjutsu: Raisuiryuudan!"**

Takumi made another water dragon, while the clone channelled lightning chakra into it, making it glow in an otherworldly way. When the dragon was hit by the attack, the electricity in it caused her muscles to lock, effectively paralyzing her. Seeing his chance, Takumi dispelled the clone and ran to the nest to pick up the Golden Egg. Grabbing the egg, he made his way towards the exit. Too shocked to even make a sound, the crowd just watched him go.

Stepping inside what appeared to be a medical tent, Takumi could see the other three champions sitting there. Diggory had his left arm in a sling, and Takumi could see some dried blood on his clothes, so he assumed Diggory had been hit by a claw or something during his turn. Fleurs' left leg was uncovered, as the clothes she had had there was now burned away. She was busy rubbing some kind of salve on the burns, and he could see them slowly disappear as she went on. Krum, on the other hand, seemed mostly unharmed, but had a few cuts and bruises from where he had been hit by debris kicked up by his rampaging dragon.

As he stood there, the medi-witch, Madam Pomfrey, came up to him.

"Well then, let's see to your injuries, shall we?"

Takumi blinked at her statement. "But I'm not injured, Pomfrey-san."

Pomfrey snorted at that. "Don't be foolish, you man. You have just faced a dragon, so there is no way you're not injured. Now, come sit here so I can check you over."

"Pomfrey-san, I assure you, I'm completely unharmed. But if it will make you feel better, I promise you that if I start to feel something, I will go directly to Tsunade-sama and let her do a check-up on me."

Pomfrey made a displeased face, but relented. "Very well. I do not like it, but I cannot force you, and I know from our discussions how good a medic Tsunade is, so I will allow it… for now."

A few minutes later, the champions were called back out in the arena. Soon, they stood in a row in front of the judges.

"Now it time to give our champions their points for this task!" the commentator announced. "First up, we have Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts. He faced off against the Swedish Short-Snout, and was able to get his egg in 23 minutes, 42 seconds. With the use of an excellent transfiguration, he was able to lure the dragon away from the nest, but was unfortunately hit by its tail as he approached. Now for the judges to give him his score."

The five judges – the three heads of the schools, plus two others – lifted their wands and conjured up a number each. Diggory was given a 9 (Dumbledore), an 8 (Madame Maxime), a 7 (Karkaroff) and two more sevens from Tsunade (who used a scoring card) and the ministry representative.

"Cedric Diggory has been awarded 38 points of a maximum of 50! Next, Fleur Delacour of Beauxbaton. Miss Delacour faced the Common Welsh Green, and with the excellent use of Charms, she was able to put her dragon to sleep. Unfortunately, as she was picking up her egg, the dragon snored and set her clothes on fire. She was able to put the fire out, but lost time doing so, and she finished in 25 minutes, 4 seconds. Now, let's see her score."

Once again, the judges lifted their wands and conjured up a number each. Fleur was given two eights (Dumbledore and Maxime) and three sevens, giving her a total of 37 points.

"37 points to Miss Delacour! Our third champion was Viktor Krum of Durmstrang. He faced the Chinese Fireball for his egg. He used a Conjuctivitus Curse in order to blind his dragon, but this caused the Fireball to become enrages, and in its blindness, it crushed several of the eggs in the nest. Using a combination of curses and spells, Mr Krum was able to drive the Fireball away from the nest long enough for him to grab the egg and get away. So, if we can get the score for Mr Krum..?"

Once again, the judged put up a number each. Krum was given three sevens (Dumbledore, Maxime and Tsunade) one 9 (the ministry representative) and a 10 (Karkaroff).

"Mr Krum has been given 40 points, and is currently in the lead. Our final champion, Mr Takumi, representing his home of… Konohagakure? Anyway, Mr Takumi faced the Hungarian Horntail, the most dangerous breed of dragons in existence. As Mr Takumi approached the nest, the Horntail attacked him with its fire breath. Successfully dodging the first attack, Mr Takumi was then hit by the next, but somehow the fire wasn't able to hurt him. That's when things went weird. Mr Takumi used an unknown spell to throw a lightning bolt at the dragon, which hurt it, but did otherwise nothing.

Mr Takumi then used an Elemental spell to summon a giant serpent-like construct made of water from the lake, which attacked the dragon and was successful in knocking it away from the nest and in to the wall of the arena. While the dragon was stunned, Mr Takumi conjured up a magical doppelganger of himself, and together they created another water construct – this one infused with lightning – that attacked the dragon and was able to paralyze it long enough for Mr Takumi to get the egg and leave. After such a showing, we can most likely count on high scores for the fourth champion, so judges, if you please..?"

This time, the judges looked at him for a short moment before giving their scores. Takumis' scores were four nines and one four (Karkaroff), giving him a total of 40 points. Tsunade was looking at the Durmstrang Headmaster in disgust, but couldn't say anything, as each judge decided for themselves what score to give.

Takumi, on the other hand, didn't really care. He had done what he was supposed to do, and had done so without any injuries, which would make Naruko happy. She hated whenever he became injured, especially after she found out that he had died during Peins' invasion of Konoha, even though he had been revived after she had beaten Pein.

So right now, all he wanted to do was return to the castle and hug his wife. His musings was interrupted by the commentator, again.

"This brings the first task to end. The second task will take place on February 24th, and the eggs contain a clue to what that task is, so good luck figuring it out before then."

After giving the judges a slight bow, Takumi followed the other champions out of the arena, where he was immediately jumped by Naruko, who hugged the life out of him. Giving her a warm smile and a kiss, they continued up towards the castle, joined shortly afterwards by Hinata and Tsunade.

* * *

 **And that's the end of this chapter. Now, for some translations;**

 **Suiton: Suijinheki = Water Release: Water Wall. The user either uses existing water or spits out a large amount in order to create a wall that blocks most attacks.**

 **Raiton: Jinraisen = Lightning Release: Thunderclap Arrow. The user gathers lightning chakra in one hand, which is then thrown towards its target like an arrow.**

 **Suiton: Suiryuudan = Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet. The user uses nearby water to form a large eastern-style dragon that then attacks its target.**

 **Kage Bunshin = Naruko's signature jutsu. The user creates a solid clone of himself that has half the total chakra of the user. This clone can then be used in many different ways.**

 **Renkei Ninjutsu: Raisuiryuudan = Collaboration Ninjutsu: Lightning Water Dragon Bullet. Requires two people to perform. One creates a water dragon, while the other charges it with lightning chakra, massively increasing the damage of the attack.**

 **That's all for now. Next chapter to be written is chapter 17 of Child of Light and Madness. Until then, enjoy.**

 **Baleygr**


	6. Chapter 6 Interlude

**This will be a shorter chapter, only focusing on finding out the clue for the second task, a bit of what's going on with Sirius and Remus (not much, as they don't really have a part in the story, but it would fit this chapter) and some stuff about Konoha.**

* * *

 **Interlude**

A few days after the first task, the group of Shinobi could be found gathered in their sitting room. They were standing around a table, on which the golden egg sat. They had spent the last couple of days relaxing… Well, Naruko, Hinata and Tsunade had spent the time relaxing. Takumi had spent the days avoiding the press and Dumbledore, who all wanted to know how he had done what he had done to defeat the dragon during his turn at the task. Thankfully, he was able to divert them by posting a statement on a piece of parchment which he nailed to the front door of Hogwarts.

So here they were, standing 'round a table, staring at a gaudy egg.

"Right then." Tsunade began. "According the headmaster, this egg is supposed to contain a clue for the next task. Before we open it, what can we deduce from just looking at it?"

"Well, there's markings on it that's seems to depict Hogwarts, and while not completely empty, whatever's inside doesn't weigh much." Takumi answered.

"Hm… Hinata, can you use the Byakugan to see what's inside the egg?"

"I can try, Hokage-sama." Hinata said, before staring at the egg and activating her Doujutsu. "I can't tell for certain what's inside, but whatever it is, it appears to be partly solid and partly liquid. If I were to describe it, I would say it looks like a mixture of water and crystal, with whatever energy this 'magic' is running through it."

"Is it safe to open?" Naruko asked.

"I can see nothing that would indicate a trap, so yes, I believe so."

"Well then." Takumi said. "Please take a few step back, and I'll have a Kage Bunshin open it."

Nodding, the other three backed away, and Takumi created a clone before joining them. The clone picked up the egg and opened it. Immediately, a horrible screeching emanated from the egg, and forced to the clone to be dispelled due to the sudden and heavy aural damage it caused. The four Shinobi were also affected by the sound, but Takumi was quick enough to close the egg, so no major damage was done, and Tsunade was quick to heal whatever damage had been done.

"Right, we are _soo_ not doing that again." Naruko said with a grimace, whilst holding the side of her head.

"At least not until we can figure out a way to fix that sound, since I'm pretty sure it's the clue." Takumi said.

"Right. Now, before we do anything else, let's go over what we know about these tasks. Perhaps then we can figure out a way to understand the sound that egg makes." Tsunade agreed.

Returning the egg to the table, they all gathered around it again.

"So then, let's go over what we know of this tournament." Tsunade began.

"Right" Takumi said. "Let's begin with the first task; retrieving this egg from a dragon."

"Well, apart from being very dangerous creatures, dragons are considered to represent wind and fire, at least according to some of the books I have read." Hinata began.

"And the egg," Naruko continued, "not only does its inside have an aquatic feel to it, but it is also formed like a raindrop. Perhaps the second task has something to do with water?"

"Considered that there's a large lake right next to the castle, it would seem like a safe bet." Takumi said, before getting a mischievous look in his eye. "Well, a safe bet for anyone, except for Tsunade-sama."

At this, Tsunade got a tick over her left eye, and grabbed a cushion which she threw at him, knocking him flat, whilst Hinata and Naruko snickered.

Once Takumi was back on his feet, they continued.

"Okay. Since we all agree on that water and the lake are most likely tied to the second task, perhaps water is the key to making that sound understandable?" Naruko said.

Takumi and Hinata both looked at Tsunade, who nodded in agreement. Takumi then spoke up.

"If that's the case, then I have a way to check it."

"And how would you do that?" Tsunade asked.

"I was thinking of using a Kage Bunshin, which I will trap with the egg in a Suirō no Jutsu. When inside the technique, the clone will open the egg, and if we doesn't hear anything, it will, and I will know what the egg said when the clone is dispelled."

Tsunade thought it over for a second, before speaking up.

"A good plan, with minimal risk to all involved. You have a go."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama." Takumi said, before picking up the egg and turning to leave.

"Where are you going?" Tsunade asked.

"The bathroom. I don't know about you, but I have no desire to perform a water technique in the middle of the sitting room."

"Oh… Good idea."

With that, the three kunoichi's followed Takumi into the bathroom. When inside, Takumi created another clone and handed him the egg. The clone stepped inside the bathtub and nodded to Takumi.

Making a few handseals, Takumi exclaimed " **Suiton: Suirō no Jutsu!** " and formed a sphere of water around the clone. Inside the sphere, the clone opened the egg and listened carefully. While those outside the sphere couldn't hear anything except a faint mumbling, they could see that the clone could. After about a minute, the clone closed the egg, which made Takumi release the sphere. Once free, the clone put the egg down and dispelled.

"So?" Tsunade asked. "Did you learn anything?"

"That I did." Takumi answered. "Come, let's return to the sitting room, and I'll tell you what the egg said."

Once they was sitting in the sitting room again, Takumi spoke up.

"We were correct when we assumed water and the lake were connected to the second task. When my clone opened the egg in the water, it heard voices singing coming from it. This is what it said;

 _Come seek us where our voices sound,_  
 _We cannot sing above the ground,_  
 _And while you're searching ponder this;_  
 _We've taken what you'll sorely miss,_  
 _An hour long you'll have to look,_  
 _And to recover what we took,_  
 _But past an hour, the prospect's black,_  
 _Too late, it's gone, it won't come back._

From this we can deduce that something of mine will be placed in the lake, and I will have one hour to retrieve it, or fail the task. Now, the question is; what will they take?"

"Well, we have a few months to figure that out. But what are you going to use to stay under water for the time needed?" Naruko asked.

"While I can hold my breath for almost 20 minutes, it's far from enough when it comes to this task. Thus, I was thinking of sending one of my summons to Kakashi-sensei in order to get a Mist Rebreather."

"If you are going to do that, perhaps we can send him a few messages in order to update him on the situation here." Tsunade said.

"Oh! And we can tell our friends back home the good news!" Naruko exclaimed.

"That we can, that we can." Takumi said with a smile, hugging his beaming wife. They each went to their respective rooms in order to write letters to send to Konoha. Tsunade wrote an update for Kakashi, in which she described how things were going.

Hinata wrote two letters. One to her sister, who was leading the clan in her absence, and one to her team and sensei, as she had been named godmother to her sensei's daughter.

Takumi wrote a letter to Kakashi, in which he gave the Hokage an update, plus a request for a Mist Rebreather.

Naruko first wanted to write personal letters to each one of her friends, but soon figured out that it would take too long. So, on Takumi's suggestion, she wrote a long letter to Kakashi, and included a list of people he should gather and read the letter too.

That evening, Takumi summoned an owl, and asked her to deliver the letters to the Hokage. Agreeing, the female owl took the scroll containing the letters and left. The letters sent, the four shinobi spent the evening relaxing and reading in their sitting room, knowing it would be some time before a return was sent (though, not that long of a time, since time moved faster in the Elemental Nations than it did where they were now).

* * *

 **The same time, in an old townhouse, somewhere in London.**

Sirius Black was sitting in the library of the Ancestral Home of the Black Family. It had been a few days since he had seen his godson defeat a dragon with the use of powerful elemental magic. When he had escaped from Azkaban in order to capture the rat that had betrayed James and Lily, he had hoped to finally meet Harry. Only, once the traitor had been caught, he had learned that his godson never had gone to Hogwarts, and, in fact, had been missing for a bit over six years.

It had taken several months for Remus Lupin, an old friend of both him and James, to get him out of his funk. It was only the insistence from the Goblins that Harry was still alive that stopped him from truly becoming self-destructive.

When Dumbledore had contacted him the day after Halloween, claiming Harry had been found, he had been elated. When he met the person Dumbledore claimed was Harry, he had been sceptical. The man may have looked similar to how Harry would have looked, but he was too old to be Harry. But after some conversation with the man, Sirius had found that the man was indeed Harry. Only, he had lived in another world, where time moved twice as fast as it did on Earth.

Learning that Harry (though he insisted to be Takumi, or Uzumaki-Ishimaru Takumi) was a soldier, and had fought in a war, was shocking. Learning that he was married, even more. But, he could easily see that Harry loved his wife very much, and from what he could glean from Harry's stories of her, she was like a blond, female version of him or James. He couldn't help but draw a line between the similarities between Harry and Naruko, and James and Lily. Harry was like a male copy of Lily, studious and somewhat serious, but fiercely protective of his friends and loved ones, while Naruko was very similar to James. Powerful, but always with a smile on her face, and a prankster at heart.

Sirius smiled. He had no doubt that James and Lily agreed wholeheartedly with Harry's choice in wife. He was broken out of his thoughts when a voice spoke to him from the door to the library.

"You wanted to see me, Padfoot?"

"Yeah… Come in, have a seat, have drink. My house is yours, you know that Moony." Sirius said as he straightened in his seat.

Moony, a.k.a. Remus Lupin, joined his old friend in front of the fireplace, grabbing a Butterbeer as he sat down. "So, what did you want to speak with me for?"

"I would like you opinion on Harry's performance during the first task."

Leaning back, Lupin took a moment to gather his thoughts.

"Well… From what I saw, he is excellent when it comes to elemental magic. Even more so, since he didn't use his wand to perform any spells. The problem is, how did he become so good at it? I mean, apart from the _Incendio_ and the _Aquamenti_ , elemental spells are not that common."

"What do you mean, 'problem'?"

"As I said, elemental spells are not that common, and as such, rumours will spring up dealing with how he became so proficient in such an obscure art. Add to the fact that that muckraker Skeeter is still active, and he will most likely be branded as 'Dark', due to no-one knowing where and how he learned his skills."

Sighing, Sirius leaned back and closed his eyes.

"I see your point… but, do you truly think Harry will care? He has made his stance clear. He will only remain until the tournament is over, and then he will return home. And frankly, I'm thinking of asking to join him."

"But… why?"

"Because! Apart from you, what reason do I have to remain here? The Black Family? I can easily reinstate my cousin Andromeda and her daughter as Blacks, and they can take care of the family. The Wizarding World? After 12 years in Azkaban for a crime I didn't commit, what right does it have to demand things of me? No. While it is far too late for me to have a parental relationship with Harry, at least I can try and get to know him and his family, and that can't happen while I remain here."

Taking a drink from the bottle he held, Lupin looked at Sirius.

"Well, if you get to go with them, I won't be joining you."

Sirius gave him a sharp glare at that.

"Why?"

"Because I can't allow the disease to spread to a new world. Imagine it… A single mistake from my part, and that world suddenly has an epidemic of lycanthropy on its hands. Here, I will at least have the possibility to get the Wolfbane Potion, but there? They have no knowledge of how to deal with werewolves."

Leaning back, the two men fell into a comfortable silence, each one in their own thoughts, as the fire burned brightly in the fireplace.

* * *

 **Sometime later, Hokage's office, Konohagakure no Sato**

It was early in the morning, and Hatake Kakashi had just arrived to begin the paperwork for the day. Sitting at the Hokage's desk, he sighed as he looked upon the piles of paperwork that he was to read and sign. His thoughts was interrupted when a plume of smoke erupted in the centre of the office, and an owl appeared.

"Greetings, owl-san. Can I help you?"

"Are you the Hokage?" Kakashi nodded. "Then, I bring a scroll with letters from Takumi-kun and those with him."

"Thank you, owl-san. Is there anything else?"

"No, not right now. But I will return in a week's time, so that I can deliver any answers back to Takumi-kun."

"Until then, then."

"Yes. Farewell."

And with that, the owl left.

Unsealing the scroll, Kakashi picked up the letters. Seeing that one was to Hyuuga Hanabi, he summoned a Chuunin in order to deliver it to the Hyuuga compound. As Hinata's other letter was to her team, Kakashi left it for the moment, as only Aburame Shino and Sarutobi Kurenai were in the village at the moment.

Next, he picked up the letter from Tsunade and read it. Nodding, he put it aside and reached for Takumi's letter. Seeing that it agreed with Tsunade's, he summoned on of the ANBU and told said person to find a rebreather that could be sent to Takumi when his owl returned. Then he picked up Naruko's letter. Reading it, a smile appeared on his face and he looked at the list she had sent.

Most of the people on it was in the village, but Kiba and Akamaru was away on a mission, and Shikamaru was in Suna with his wife. Pressing a button on the intercom, he called for his secretary. The woman soon entered his office.

"You called, Hokage-sama?"

"Yes, Midori-san. Please have a message sent to Aburame Shino, Sarutobi Kurenai, Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Chouji, Rock Lee, Higurachi Tenten, Maito Gai, Kato Shizune, Sarutobi Konohamaru and Umino Iruka that I would like them to be here at 12 today. I have just received information that pertains them."

"Of course, Hokage-sama. I'll have a message sent to them within the hour."

"Good. You are dismissed, Midori-san."

His secretary bowed, and left the office. Kakashi put the letter aside and returned to his paperwork.

 **12 o'clock, Hokage's office.**

The group of people Naruko had listed was now gathered in the Hokage's office. Shino stood, leaning on a wall in the back. Sitting in front of the desk was Kurenai, with her five year old daughter Mirai in her lap. To her left sat Ino and Chouji, discussing spices of all things. To the right of Kurenai was Maito Gai in the wheelchair he had been forced to use since his body was damaged beyond repair during the Fourth Shinobi World War. Flanking him was his only remaining students, Lee and Tenten, with Shizune standing behind him, being the nurse that took care of him that day. Konohamaru and Iruka was sitting on the couch under the large window, and were waiting for what Kakashi was to tell them.

Seeing everyone was there, Kakashi began. "Good, you're all here. I guess you're all wondering why I asked you to come, right?"

The gathered shinobi (and toddler) nodded.

"Well, this morning, an owl summon delivered some letters from Takumi, Naruko, Hinata and Tsunade-sama." Here Kakashi picked up the letter from Hinata to her team. "This letter is from Hinata to her team, so, Kurenai, as her sensei, I'll leave it to you for the team to read once we are done here."

Kurenai nodded, and took the letter.

"Now," Kakashi said, and picked up the letter from Naruko. "For the reason I called you here. It was at the request of Naruko, because she has some news she wants to share with you all, as her friends. Her list also named Kiba and Shikamaru, but as they are out of the village at the moment… anyway. Naruko wants you all to know everything is fine, but she will have something to show you all when you see her again."

At first, the group seemed confused at Kakashi's cryptic words, but then Kurenai connected the dots.

"Wait, do you mean..?" She said, looking at Kakashi, trying to confirm her suspicion. Kakashi answered with an eye-smile.

"You are correct, Kurenai. Tsunade has checked and confirmed it."

Hearing that, it clicked for Ino too, and she squeeled in delight.

"What's the matter, Ino?" Chouji asked his teammate.

"Naruko! She's pregnant!" Ino exclaimed, while looking at Kakashi for confirmation.

"Correct. According to Tsunade-sama, Naruko is about one month pregnant, and will deliver her child either directly before, or just after her return here."

That got a reaction out of the rest of them. Lee and Gai smiled brightly, before they started ranting about Youth. Chouji smiled, happy for his friend, and even Shino gave a soft smile at the news. Tenten joined Kurenai and Ino in being giddy over her fellow kunoichi's upcoming parenthood. Iruka smiled and was happy that the one he saw as a younger sister now were getting the family she had wanted for so long. Konohamaru decided then and there that he would become the best Jonin in Konoha, and once his Boss's child was old enough, he would train him or her, just like Naruko had trained him.

"Now," Kakashi said, calling attention back to himself. "In a week's time, the owl summon will return and take any and all messages written back to Takumi, Naruko, Hinata and Tsunade. So, if you wishes to congratulate Naruko and Takumi, or tell them something else, please have the letters ready before then. Now, as I'm sure you all want to take some time and think of these news, you're all dismissed."

One by one, the gathered shinobi bowed to Kakashi and left the office. Shizune returned to the hospital, while Lee rolled Gai towards the training ground the usually used. Tenten went to her apartment, not having anything planed for the rest of the day. Shino joined Kurenai and her daughter, as they left to read the letter from Hinata. Chouji and Ino left together, having decided to tell the news to their families. Konohamaru almost ran out the door, already on his way to the Sarutobi compound, where he wanted to look up different ways to become more skilled.

Iruka, on the other hand, looked at the clock and saw that he still had about 40 minutes left of his lunchbreak, and thus decided to go to Ichiraku's Ramen and tell them the good news, as the father/daughter pair that ran the restaurant was close to Naruko, too.

Once the group had left, Kakashi sat down at his desk and looked out the window towards the Hokage Monument, thinking.

' _You would be proud of Naruko now, sensei. Both you and Kushina-sama. She's truly happy now, and you have a grandchild on the way. If only you had gotten the chance to meet Takumi and their child.'_

Returning to work, Kakashi felt that no amount of paperwork could destroy the happiness his student's letter had brought.

* * *

 **Suiton: Suirō no Jutsu = Water Style: Water Prison Technique  
**

* * *

 **And that's all for now. The next chapter will deal with Christmas and the ball. Up next to be written; Chapter 18 of Child of Light and Madness.**

 **Until then, enjoy.**

 **-Baleygr**


	7. Chapter 7

**This will be a shorter chapter. I hit a writer's block not long after I began to write this chapter, which basically stopped me dead in my tracks until the second week in January. I hope that you all can forgive me for the wait.**

 **I also would like to announce that I have published a one-shot on Ao3. It's called A Riddle figured out, and is a time-travel Harry Potter fanfic with a Harry/fem!Riddle pairing. The reason it's on Ao3 and not , is because it contains my first attempt to write a sex scene. My pen name is the same (Baleygr) on both sites.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

Two weeks had passed, and the middle of December was approaching. About three days after it had been sent to Konoha, Takumi's summon had returned with letters from their friends there. Everyone had sent well-wishes and congratulations to Naruko and Takumi for the pregnancy. Amongst the letters were one from the Ichiraku's.

That letter especially made Naruko tear up in joy. Not only because the Ichiraku's had treated her as a part of their family, but also because they had sent a sealed Naruko-sized portion of Miso Ramen to her. Unfortunately, those tears soon became tears of sadness, as Naruko discovered they joys of pregnancy cravings. Apparently, during this point in her pregnancy, the flavour of Miso made her sick.

Tsunade chuckled as she explained how it was common for the hormones released during a pregnancy to cause the expecting mother's sense of taste to go haywire during the first two trimesters. Naruko cursed the hormones as she gave her offerings to the Great God Barf at his white porcelain altar, Takumi rubbing her back all the while.

It was now the 9th of December, and Takumi had just finished observing the last Transfiguration class of the week when Professor McGonagall asked him to stay after class.

"You wished to talk to me, McGonagall-san?" Takumi said as the last student had left the room.

"Correct, Mr Takumi." McGonagall said. "I have been asked by the Headmaster to tell you that a ball will be held on the evening of the 24th, and that you, as a competitor in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, is by tradition required to dance the opening dance of the ball with the other champions."

"I see…" Takumi said with a frown. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"You are required to find a date for the ball yourself, and you both need to be dressed in clothes fitting the occasion."

"…You _do_ remember that I'm married, don't you?" Takumi said with an incredulous look on his face.

"Yes, I'm aware, but what has that to do with this, Mr Takumi?"

"Well, it's simple; since I'm married, I'll be taking my wife to the ball. Because, not only do I love her dearly, but to even _attempt_ taking someone else would be classified as a suicide on my part."

"As it should be, Mr Takumi."

Takumi simply stared at McGonagall for a bit, before shaking his head.

"Anyway, we will come to the ball, but you have to remember one thing; we come from a whole different culture than you have here, so the dances we know are not the dances you have."

"As long as you dance, don't think there will be a problem."

"Very well. If that's all..?"

"That's all. Have a good day, Mr Takumi."

"You as well, McGonagall-san."

And with that, Takumi left the room. Walking through the halls of Hogwarts, Takumi pondered on the ball. He had taken several missions in the past that put him in the situation where-in he had to attend high society functions, so he wasn't all that worried about the ball in itself. No, he was worried about the opportunities the ball afforded possible attackers. More than once had he had to stop his employer from eating poisoned food, or being stabbed by a hidden weapon on the dance floor.

Takumi held no illusions on how the magicals saw him. The few times he had snuck around the castle, he had overheard several discussions about how 'sad' it was that 'the Potter heir' had married someone not of 'pure' lineage. Knowing that several of the older students had their eyes on him, he feared that they would use the ball as way to hurt Naruko and their child.

While he trusted the furball in her to counteract all types of poisons, he had no idea how magical potions would act. He would have to talk with both her and Tsunade about his fears…

Continuing his walk, Takumi returned to their rooms, hoping to think things through a bit more before Naruko and Tsunade returned. Arriving at the library, Takumi decided to see if he could find any interesting books, and entered. He spent the next few hours in the library, reading any potion book he could find in order to be prepared.

When evening came, Takumi returned to his rooms, carrying with him several pieces of parchment with information scribbled down on. As he entered the rooms, he was greeted by Naruko, Hinata and Tsunade.

"Welcome back. How was your day?" Tsunade asked when he entered.

"Well enough." He answered, as he sat down next to Naruko, giving her a kiss as a greeting. "I learned that there will be a ball towards the end of the year, about a week before Shōgatsu."

"A ball?" Naruko asked, looking slightly confused.

"Ah, right. Think of it as this place's version of a Daimyo's court function." Takumi said. "Y'know; food, music dancing..."

Here he grips Naruko's hand and squeezes it slightly.

"...ample opportunity to assassinate someone..."

"Do you believe that will happen?" Tsunade asked, having noticed his action.

"Normally? No. But, you all know how these people see me. It wouldn't be such an outlandish idea for someone to target either myself or one of you in an attempt to keep me here."

"So we should prepare for it, then?" Hinata said.

"Yes." Takumi said with a nod. "If this had been a function in a Daimyo's court, I wouldn't have been worried, since with Tsunade-sama here, any attempts of poisoning would be foiled. But, with the strange concoctions they have here..."

"I see..." Tsunade said, as she understood what he meant. "Despite my skills, I have no idea how to deal with everything they can create here. While I can do some research, it would be impossible for me to learn everything needed before the ball."

"While not being able to learn everything, perhaps we could find an antidote that works for most poisons or potions." Hinata injected.

"Hmm." Tsunade grunted as she nodded in response. "I'll ask Pomfrey-san tomorrow. While I do that, you three should do some research on possible potions and poisons."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama!" The three answered.

"Good. Anyway, it seems we need to send another message back to Konoha, as we will need some formal clothes."

"I will do so, Tsunade-sama." Takumi said.

"Very well, you all know what to do. Dismissed!"

"Hai!" The three answered.

A letter was sent, and a few hours later, the owl returned with their ceremonial clothes. For the next couple of days, they went over all information they could find about potions and poisons that could possibly be used against them. While they found that almost all potions would require a counter potion, most poisons could be stopped by a bezoar. Tsunade, in the meantime, had discretely asked Pomfrey about how she would deal with different types of potions and poisons.

The days passed, and the four shinobi made sure to stock up on bezoars, whilst trying to narrow the possible potions and poisons down to the most likely to be encountered. They didn't have much luck, but were as sure as they could be that they could counter whatever was used, if anything was. Soon, the day of the ball arrived.

The four shinobi had spent the day getting ready, and were now gathered in their common room before they were to go down to the Great Hall.

Hinata wore a light pink kimono with a red cloud pattern on it. Her dark blue hair was tastefully decorated with pins and white flowers.

Tsunade wore a dark blue – almost black – kimono with golden vine pattern on. Instead of her usual two loose ponytails, her hair was now braided and fell to the middle of her back.

Naruko wore a deep red kimono with white wave pattern, and her hair, like Tsunades, was braided. And like Hinata, she had decorated it with different types of pins.

Takumi wore white tabi socks with setta sandals, grey hakama and deep blue kimono with a forest green haori over it. Each shinobi had their clan crest on the upper back of their clothes (Takumi used the Uzumaki spiral, as he had taken Naruko's clan name).

Together, the four of them walked down to the entrance hall, where the rest of those allowed at the ball were gathered. When they arrived, they were met by Professor McGonagall.

"Ah, Mr. Takumi, you are just in time. The other champions and their partners arrived just moments ago. If you and your wife could join them, I'll fill you in on the last detail concerning the ball."

"Will do, McGonagall-san." Takumi answered. Turning towards the other two, Takumi and Naruko told them that they would meet up with them later, before moving over towards the other champions. The greetings they received when they joined the others were neutral in nature, since – while they knew each other a bit – they weren't friends.

Having taken care of a few late students, Professor McGonagall joined them shortly.

"Good, everyone's here." McGonagall began. "In about five minutes, the other students and guests will enter the Great Hall and be seated at the tables that has been prepared inside it. Five minutes after that, you, the champions with your date/partner, are to enter."

Here, she took a break and fixed the group with a stern gaze.

"As you enter, music will begin to play." McGonagall continued. "Once you've reached the centre of the Hall, you are to stop, and wait for the band to begin another song. When this song begins, you are to dance, which will mark the start of the ball. While not an official part of the tournament, since you are representative for your respective school – or in Mr. Takumi's case – home, it _will_ reflect good or bad, depending how well you dance.

Once the dance is over, you may join any table that has room for you, and the banquet will begin. Once that is done, you're free to socialize or dance as you wish, until you either wishes to leave, or the clock strikes midnight."

Listening to McGonagall, Takumi felt slightly relieved. No fixed seating meant that the possibility of poisoned cutlery was basically nil, and knowing from experience that banquets often had many different dishes, the threat of poison in the food or drinks fell drastically as well.

There was still the possibility of a direct attack, but thanks to Naruko's ability to sense negative emotions, he wasn't worried about that, since attacking a Shinobi of Naruko's competence was simply suicide.

Filling the next ten minutes with small talk, the group watched as the students and guests entered the Hall. When the ten minute mark was reached, McGonagall nodded and the doors to the Hall opened to the sound of music beginning.

Fleur was the first of the champions to enter, her date being a seventh year Hogwarts student Takumi didn't know the name off. Krum was next, leading his date – a girl named Hermione, who Takumi had spoken to a few times before – inside. After him came the Hogwarts champion, Cedric, who came with a girl of similar age and Asian complexion. And then Takumi and Naruko entered.

As they stepped inside, they looked around the Hall. The four house tables were gone, and several smaller, round tables had been put in their place. From what they could see, each table seated at most twelve people, but only a few held more than six at the moment. The Hall itself was decorated in a winter landscape theme. Several snow-cowered fir-trees stood in the corners and along the walls, and snow fell from the ceiling only to disappear a few feet above their heads.

When they reached the centre of the Hall, the music they entered too slowly faded away. A few seconds later, the band started a new song, this one made for slow dancing. The other three champions started to dance the two shinobi didn't recognize. The male partner gripped the female's right hand in his left, and put his right on her waist, whilst she put her left on his right shoulder. Then they moved in a swinging motion, four steps forward and four steps backwards, whilst slowly turning of their axis.

The shinobi's would later learn that that type of dance was called a 'waltz', but for now, they didn't know anything about it. Instead, they choose to perform one of the many traditional dances they had observed during their missions.

While in stark contrast to the waltz the other danced, Takumi and Naruko rarely touched during theirs, yet it still held an air of sophistication to it. In fact, most of the eyes in the Hall was on them, as most had seen a waltz before, but no-one except Hinata and Tsunade had seen their dance.

The dances continued for a few minutes, but soon the music stopped, as did the dances. Applauds came from those watching, and after a small bow, the four pairs left the dancefloor and joined the rest of the participants of the ball at the tables.

The three school champions sat at the tables where their friends were, whilst Takumi and Naruko joined Tsunade and Hinata at their table, together with two of the Hogwarts staff. The short and jovial Professor Flitwick and the motherly Professor Sprout greeted them as they sat down.

"Excellent dance, Mr Takumi, Mrs Naruko." Flitwick told the two. "While not a dance one would normally see during a ball, it was beautiful. Can you perhaps tell me about it?"

"Of course, Flitwick-san." Takumi said. "It was a dance we saw during a mission to… the Land of Tea, wasn't it?"

Takumi looked at Naruko, who confirmed it.

"The Land of Tea. The dance is traditionally performed towards the end of the year, in order to bring good luck and healthy life to the people during the next. Usually, there are three pairs that dance, one unmarried young couple, one married couple of any age, and one pair of elderly, who are either widowed or has never married in the first place.

The reason for this boils down to tradition. While not entirely sure why, I believe it's to represent every part of the human life, from the beginning to the end."

"Interesting…" Flitwick said, thinking on what he had heard. "And which part did you play during this dance?"

"The married couple, of course!" Naruko said with a bright smile.

"Congratulation!" Sprout said with a smile of her own. "I can see that you love each other. Have you been married for long?"

"Just a few months shy of two years." Takumi said, as he took Naruko's hand in his, and gave her a smile.

Professor Sprout was about to ask some more questions, when she was interrupted by Dumbledore standing up. Silence fell as everyone looked at the old Headmaster.

"I bid you all welcome, guests and dignitaries alike, to Hogwarts." Dumbledore began. "The banquet will begin shortly, and the floor will be open for all who wishes to dance afterward. I hope you all enjoy this evening. Thank you."

With that he sat down and picked up a menu from in front of him. Looking through it for a second, he then spoke to his plate: "I'll have the lamb chops with mashed potato and green beans, with a side of sautéed Brussels sprouts, please."

Moments later, the food appeared on his plate. Seeing this, everyone else picked up their menu's and started to order. Flitwick ordered the same thing as Dumbledore, Hinata and Sprout choose a seafood pasta, Tsunade and Takumi went for the steamed salmon with potatoes and boiled vegetables. Naruko on the other hand…

"I'll have salmon with custard, chips with grated dark chocolate, and some sauerkraut, please!"

Several of those who heard her order amongst the nearby tables turned slightly sick at her strange order, and Sprout and Flitwick gave Takumi a questioning look.

"Cravings." Was all he said.

Sprout was the first to understand, with Flitwick soon after.

"Congratulations!" Sprout said as she gave Naruko a bright smile. "May I ask, how far along are you?"

"About three months." Naruko said after she had swallowed the piece of salmon she had been eating. "We suspect the birth will happen sometime during July next year."

"Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?" Sprout asked.

"No, it's too early to determine that." Tsunade answered.

"Well, perhaps Poppy can help you there." Flitwick injected. "While no healer, I know that there are spells that can tell you the gender of a foetus."

"Thank you for the information, Flitwick-san." Takumi said to the man. "We will of course talk things over, as we haven't decided if we want to know the gender before the birth. But it's nice to have a choice."

The banquet continued, and about an hour later, most had finished eating. The band, having also eaten, started to play some soft music as couples gravitated towards the dancefloor. Not knowing any of the dances or the music, the four shinobi choose to stand beside the dancefloor and speak with Flitwick and Sprout.

Sprout had started a discussion with Naruko regarding pregnancy and child rearing, with Tsunade and Hinata joining in. A persistent fly or something was buzzing around Naruko's head, until she smacked it so hard it became a smear on the floor. Ignoring the insect, Naruko concentrated on the discussion again.

While this was going on, Takumi was involved in an interesting discussion with Flitwick regarding the similarities between shinobi and Goblin culture. Both cultures were clan-based and militaristic in nature, but where Goblins put great stock in gold and other precious metals, the shinobi saw techniques and knowledge as valuable. But both Takumi and Flitwick agreed on that the Goblins would have been more welcome amongst the shinobi than they ever were amongst the wizards and witches of this world.

Their discussions continued for two more hours. During that time, several of the students came up and asked both Tsunade and Hinata for a dance, but were all rejected. Most took the rejection well, but some (a pale kid in silver and green, and a red-headed grubby kid) didn't take the rejection well, and tried to force the issue (the pale kid trying to pull ranks, and the red-head attempting to make himself look better with lies).

They both quickly left after being subjected to the Hyuuga Death Stare. Soon, midnight was approaching, and the shinobi decided to retire for the night. After saying goodnight to the Professors Sprout and Flitwick, they left the Great Hall and returned to their quarters. Once they were back there, Takumi and Naruko said goodnight to Hinata and Tsunade, before retreating to their bedroom. As they were undressing in order to go to bed, Takumi brought up what Flitwick had said about finding out what gender their child would be.

"So, Naru-chan," he began, "what do you think about having Pomfrey-san check to see what gender our child is?"

"Well…" Naruko began, with a pensive look on her face. "Part of me wants to wait, and let the gender remain a secret until his or her birth. But, at the same time, I _want_ to know, so that we can create the perfect room for him or her when we get home."

"You don't have to decide right now, love. We can wait." Takumi said as he hugged her from behind, his right hand moving down to her stomach, where a small bump could be felt. "Let's sleep on it, and decide at a later time, ok?"

Nodding, Naruko turned and gave him a light kiss, before they went to bed. When they awoke the next day, they spent an hour just cuddling, before rising to eat breakfast (after Naruko gave her daily offering to the Great God Barf). As they sat and ate, Naruko spoke.

"Y'know, Ta-kun."

"Yes?"

"I believe I want to find out our child's gender. Do you think we can go and have Pomfrey-san check after we're done eating?"

"Of course!" Takumi said with a bright smile. "There should be no problems at all. Do you want Hinata and Tsunade-sama to be there as well, or shall we tell them afterwards?"

Naruko though for a moment before answering.

"I think I'll want them there. I would want Baa-chan there, if only for her medical knowledge, and it wouldn't be fair to Hinata-chan if we didn't include her then as well."

"Okay." Takumi said whilst nodding. "So we'll get them and then go to the medical wing after we're done eating?"

"Yep!"

Thirty minutes later, they had finished eating and gathered Tsunade and Hinata. When told what they wanted to do, Tsunade gave Naruko a smile and hugged her, telling her that 'of course she would join them'. Hinata also smile, but gave a small bow and thanked them for the honour of allowing her to join them, before she too hugged Naruko.

Together, they went to the medical wing, where they were greeted by Madam Pomfrey.

"Welcome. What can I help you with?" Madam Pomfrey said when they entered the medical wing.

"Good morning, Pomfrey-san." Naruko greeted her. "I was wondering if you have time to help us with something?"

"Of course. What do you need?"

"We were talking to Flitwick-san and Sprout-san yesterday, and Flitwick-san mentioned that there are spells that can show the gender of a foetus. We wonder if you could perform such a spell."

"I can, but I haven't had the need to do so for years, as pregnancies are rare here at Hogwarts. I take it that one of you ladies are pregnant?"

"Yes, Pomfrey-san." Naruko said. "I'm about three months along."

"Three months, you say?"

Naruko nods in answer.

"I believe that that's just on the border for the spell to work, if I remember correctly, but it should be able to tell you the gender. If you could take a seat, I'll be with you as soon as I've made sure I remember the spell correctly."

With that, Madam Pomfrey entered her office. Naruko sat down on one of the beds in the room, with Takumi sitting beside her and Hinata and Tsunade standing next to her. Five minutes later, Madam Pomfrey returned, nodding to herself.

"I have conferred with my books and manuals, and I have the spell needed. So if you are ready..?"

At Naruko's nod, Madam Pomfrey pointed her wand at Naruko's stomach and intoned the spell.

" _Genus Inveniunt Embryonibus."_

A Golden glow sprang forth around Naruko, but slowly turned to a bright red. Looking at the light, Madam Pomfrey nodded.

"Well, everything seems fine." She began. "I take it you wish for an explanation, and not just the result?"

They agreed, and she continued.

"The golden glow was the first part of the spell. Had the glow been white, it would have indicated that there were no pregnancy, but since it was golden, a pregnancy was detected. As you saw, the glow then changed colour. This is the second part of the spell. The colour and the strength of the glow shows what gender the child is, and how healthy it is. You, my dear, are carrying a very healthy female child."

The four shinobi thanked Madam Pomfrey, and once they had returned to their quarters, they spent the day relaxing and enjoying the company of each other.

* * *

 **Genus Inveniunt Embryonibus: Latin meaning Discover Gender Foetus.**

 **I'm sorry it took so long, but I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Next up, Chapter 19 of Child of Light and Madness.**

 **Until then, enjoy.**

 **Baleygr**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The end of the year came and a new year began. It was a quiet time for the four shinobi, with the only noticeable event being the disappearance of one Rita Skeeter. The woman had departed from her home on the 23rd and never returned. When she didn't appear at work on the 28th, the Daily Prophet reported her missing to the Aurors. So far, there were no traces of the woman, and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement suspected foul play.

The common consensus amongst the students at Hogwarts was that she had finally angered someone powerful, and that she was now paying for it. That being said, none of this really registered with the four shinobi, as it had nothing to do with them personally.

As the weeks before the second task passed by, Takumi took his time to explore the lake. He needed to learn the layout of it, and determine the amount of time one of the rebreathers could be used before it needed to be recharged. Thankfully, the rebreather was able to hold out for three hours before the 20% threshold was reached.

He also made sure to go to Gringotts as soon as the holiday was over.

* * *

 _ **Flashback; January 7**_ _ **th**_

 _Takumi was stepping up the stair to Gringotts bank with a goal in mind. Entering Gringotts, he went over to one of the tellers._

" _Excuse me, master Goblin?" he addressed the teller. Said teller looked up when he spoke._

" _Yes, wizard?"_

" _I would like to talk to the one amongst you that manages the Potter Account."_

" _And by what right do you wish to do that?" the teller answered with a sneer._

" _By my right as a Potter by blood."_

" _By blood, eh? We shall see about that."_

 _The Goblin reached down and pulled out a piece of parchment and a dagger._

" _Place three drops of blood on the parchment, and we shall see if it's true. Be warned, though. If you fail, you will be taken into custody and charged with attempted Line Theft."_

 _Nodding, Takumi took the dagger and made a small cut on his thumb. Placing three drops of blood on the parchment, he then licked the remaining blood off as he watched it glow. When the glow had faded, the Goblin took the parchment and looked at it. Nodding to himself, he put down the parchment and sneered at Takumi._

" _It would seem that you are indeed a Potter." He said before standing up. "Come, I shall take you to Account Manager Cragfist."_

 _The Goblin led Takumi deeper into Gringotts, before he stopped in front of a door. Knocking on the door, he waited a moment before he motioned to Takumi to enter. Entering the room, Takumi saw and older Goblin sitting at a desk in the back._

" _Sit, please." The Goblin said brusquely, not looking up from the book he was writing in. "Time is Gold, and my time is more valuable than most."_

 _Sitting down in front of the desk, Takumi waited as the Goblin finished writing._

" _As you might have figured out, I'm Cragfist, the Potter Account Manager." Cragfist said as he put down his quill and fixed Takumi with a glare. "You have proven that you are a Potter, so what do you want."_

 _Takumi began explaining his situation; how he had ended up in another dimension, his time there, the Fourth Shinobi World War, how it ended, how he had married Naruko and finally how he had been summoned back by the Goblet of Fire and what had happened since. He finished with how he had no wish to remain in Britain, and was wondering if it was possible to cancel his account at Gringotts._

 _Cragfist listened to the tale, and sat silent for a few minutes once Takumi had finished. Frowning, he spoke._

" _Mr Potter, while Gringotts normally doesn't allow an account to be cancelled, I believe we can come to an agreement."_

" _What do you propose, Cragfist?" Takumi asked._

" _While you can empty your vaults of things such as books, paintings, furniture and artefacts with no problems, it's your monetary assets that would cause trouble if removed. What I propose, is that you use said money to buy materials that can be sold once you've returned to your home. That way, you will lose very little, and our economy will not crash due to the removal of a large portion of the available gold."_

" _That sounds good." Takumi said after thinking it over for a while._

" _Good." Said Cragfist with a grin. "Now, to discuss the fee Gringotts is owned for performing these tasks."_

" _That won't be needed, Cragfist." Takumi said with a shake of his head. "I'm willing to offer Gringotts 15% of all monetary assets in my vaults, plus the offer to buy materials primarily from Gringotts, as long as I get a fair prize for them."_

" _Normally, the fee would be about 20% of the monetary assets of the vaults in question." Cragfist said. "But with the offer to buy primarily from Gringotts, 15% will be acceptable."_

" _Agreed then?" Takumi asked._

" _Agreed." Cragfist answered. "Now, what type of materials do you wish to buy?"_

" _Metals, mainly." Takumi said. "Spices from around the world could also be worth it, as we have a Clan back home that specializes in food, and they would be very interested in such, if saplings and seeds for said spices could be purchased as well."_

" _Metals are easy, as we Goblins are masters of metallurgy." Cragfist said. "Spices, on the other hand, are another thing all together. You see, the Goblin race doesn't really use spices, and as such, we don't have any to sell. We could contact other branches we have in different countries, and have them buy the spices, seeds and saplings, but it would take time."_

" _How long are we talking about?"_

" _At least a few months, five perhaps, or maybe even six."_

" _Could it be done before the end of June?"_

" _Yes, that, I can almost guarantee."_

" _Then there is no problem."_

" _Very well." Cragfist said. "Is there anything else you wish to discuss today, Mr Potter?"_

" _I would like to visit the main vault, but other than that… nothing, no."_

 _Nodding, Cragfist rang a bell, and a few moments later, another Goblin entered the room._

" _Griphook, take Mr Potter down to his vault."_

 _Giving a small bow, Griphook motioned for Takumi to follow him. Bidding Cragfist goodbye, he did so. The trip down to the vault might have been strange for some, but Takumi had experienced worse. Arriving at the vault, Griphook motioned him towards the vault door._

" _Put your hand on the door." He instructed. "If you are a Potter, then the door will open for you."_

 _Ignoring Griphook's grin, Takumi did so. As he touched the door, it seemed to vibrate for a moment, before it shuddered and opened. Looking inside, Takumi saw a room with three doors on the opposite wall. In the middle of the room was a pedestal with a book on. Walking up to the pedestal, he looked at the book. On the front cover, written in gold letters, where these words:_

 _ **Compendium of the Potter Family Vault**_

 _Opening the book, he saw that it was divided into three sections, one for each door. The first section was marked; 'Monetary Assets'_

 _The second; 'Books and Artefacts'_

 _And the third; 'Furniture, Portraits and Decorations'_

 _Opening the third section, he glanced over the index, until he saw something that made his breath hitch._

 _ **Lord James Charlus Potter, Lady Lily Jane Potter née Evans: Two Portraits, 25.5" x 19.6" (70 x 50 cm), last updated; May 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1981.**_

 _Leaving the book, he slowly entered the third room. When inside, he slowly looked around until he found what he sought. There, on the wall to the right of the door, where the still inactive portraits of his parents._

 _ **Flashback end.**_

* * *

Takumi had taken the portraits back to Hogwarts, where he activated them. That afternoon and evening was filled with both tears and laughter as emotions ran high. James and Lily had at first not believed him when he told them who he was. Their son should have been in the early teens, not a young man as the person who had woken them was.

But once he had finished his story, they were both apoplectic and swore vengeance on both the Dursley's and whoever had placed him there. When Takumi introduced Naruko to them, they immediately went into Protective Parent Mode™. Thankfully, they found Naruko to be to their taste, and were soon chatting and laughing over stories about Takumi.

James and Lily regaled them with what Takumi had done as a baby, and Naruko and Takumi told them about the pranks they had played when they were children. Then Takumi told them that Naruko was pregnant and that their child would be born that summer. When hearing those news, Lily squealed so loud her painting almost fell of the wall. Eyes gleaming, she asked them if they knew the gender of the child. When told they were expecting a daughter, Lily launched herself over to James's painting and hugged him tightly, while laughing and crying, both in joy of becoming grandparents, and in sadness for not being able to be there in person.

Later that evening, Lily and James were introduced to Hinata and Tsunade. There were some tension at first – you know, the classical 'is your son/daughter good enough for our daughter/son?' stand-off. Thankfully, Tsunade had known Takumi for almost as long as she had known Naruko, and James and Lily had spent the last several hours getting to know her, so said stand-off was short lived. The rest of the evening was spent the four getting to know each other, with Takumi and Naruko enjoying an evening with their closest family.

A few days later, Professor Flitwick learned about the paintings, and asked Takumi for permission to come and speak with them. After Takumi gave the professor his permission, Flitwick joined them. That evening, there was a tearful reunion between the diminutive professor and his favourite student. When he left later that night, Flitwick was given a standing invitation to come and talk with them whenever he wished. Thanking them, the professor left. That night, he went to bed with a smile, his heart lighter than it had been for years.

And time move on.

* * *

 **February 18** **th**

The judges of the Tri-Wizard Tournament – except Tsunade – and the heads of houses at Hogwarts, had gathered in Dumbledore's office in order to go over the final preparations for the second task.

"Well then," Dumbledore began. "It is now six days to the second task, and it's time to figure out who our champions are to rescue during said task."

"Igor," Dumbledore continued as he turned to the Headmaster of Durmstrang. "Does Mr Krum have any close friends amongst the students that you brought?"

"No, Dumbledore." Karkaroff said with a shrug. "Viktor have more fans than friends, and the few friends he have are not part of our school. I'm afraid you will find none he would miss amongst ours."

"A Shame…" Dumbledore said whilst shaking his head sadly. "Then we will have to go with his date from the ball, Ms Granger. As she is a student from Gryffindor, I'll leave it to you to speak with her when it's time, Minerva."

Professor McGonagall nodded from where she sat.

"And your student, Madam?" Dumbledore asked Beauxbatons Headmistress. "Any close friends to Ms Delacour amongst your students?"

"Non, Dumbly-door." Madam Maxime said. "Being a Veela, zer be 'ery few females wanting to 'ecome friends wiz 'er. 'er younger zister is ze only one in ze school she cares about. But she was unable to come due to a diseaze."

"I see… Well, I'll leave it to you to find an acceptable substitute for her. Pomona, what about Mr Diggory?"

"Young Mr Diggory is currently in a relationship with Ms Cho Chang from Ravenclaw." Professor Sprout answered him.

"Ah, young love." Dumbledore said with a small smile. "And finally, Mr Potter. I believe young Naruko would be the perfect…"

"I'm afraid I have to stop you there, Albus." Flitwick interrupted him. "Ms Naruko is not fit for the task as it is now."

"Yes." Professor Sprout said in agreement. "At any other time, Ms Naruko would make the perfect hostage, but not now."

"Oh?" Dumbledore said with a raised eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"Because she is pregnant." Flitwick stated, matter-of-factly. "And as such, I can't allow any action that would put her or their child in danger in any way."

"But-but, it would be such a great show…" Bagman stammered out, before he was silenced by the angry look on the four teachers and Madam Maxime's faces.

"Another word, Ludo, and I'll demand satisfaction." Flitwick warned the bumbling announcer, backed up by almost everyone else (Karkaroff didn't care, Crouch were ignoring Bagman, and Dumbledore simply frowned).

"Then who should his hostage be?" Dumbledore asked Flitwick.

"Both Ms Hinata and Madam Tsunade would work." The Charms professor answered. "Ms Hinata is a close friend to both him and Ms Naruko, while – from the looks of their interactions – Madam Tsunade seems to be a mother figure to Ms Naruko."

"Well, since Ms Naruko can't be used due to her pregnancy…"

Here Dumbledore casts a glance at Bagman who is almost vibrating in his seat due to his desire to use Naruko for the excitement of it, but is kept silent by the angry glare of Flitwick.

"…and Madam Tsunade is part of us judges, we will have to use Ms Hinata. Filius, can I trust you to speak with them about this?"

"Of course, Albus." Flitwick answers with a nod.

"Then I believe we are done for now." Dumbledore said as he stood up. Following his example, everyone else also stood up, and together, they left the Headmaster's office and went down for dinner.

Later that evening, Flitwick told Tsunade about the meeting and what had been said during it. She was, understandably, angry at being excluded, but thanked Flitwick for making sure Naruko was protected. She also promised that she would talk to Hinata, and that both of them would keep the nature of the task a secret from Takumi.

His duty complete, Flitwick said goodnight to Tsunade and returned to his quarters.

* * *

 **February 24** **th**

The day of the second task had finally come. Takumi had spent the morning preparing for the task, and was now sitting in the Great Hall, eating lunch. To his right was Naruko, and opposite her sat Tsunade. Hinata was not there, and Takumi suspected that she had already been put in the lake, since none of them had seen her since last night. Towards the end of the meal, he saw McGonagall approach them.

"Greetings, McGonagall-san." Takumi said to the witch as she stopped by their seats. "Can I help you with something?"

"Yes you can, Mr Takumi." McGonagall said. "The second task is set to begin soon, so if you could make your way down to the competitors' tent as soon as possible, you will be given the last minute instructions there."

"Very well, McGonagall-san." Takumi answered. "I will depart as soon as I'm finished with my meal."

Nodding, the elderly witch left in a brisk pace.

A few minutes later, the three of them stood up and left the hall. As they left Hogwarts through the main doors, Naruko turned to Takumi.

"So, Hinata-chan was chosen to be the hostage." She said.

"It would appear so." Takumi said in response.

"I wonder why they chose her…"

Tsunade snorted when she heard that.

"They wanted to use you at first, Naru-chan." She told the two. "But according to Flitwick-san, both he and Sprout-san put a stop to that, as did Headmistress Maxime when she learned that you were pregnant."

"Well, while I'm somewhat angry over that they decided to use people as hostages, instead of, say… dolls with personal belongings sealed within, I'm happy that they were able to dissuade the notion of using Naru-chan." Takumi stated, before continuing with a dark look in his eyes. "For if they had, I would have had to have some serious _words_ with them."

Both Naruko and Tsunade nodded, since they understood what he meant when he said 'words'. Then Naruko tilted her head slightly, and her eyes became unfocused for a moment. A few seconds later she returned to normal, and gave a small laugh. Seeing the question on the other two's faces, she explained.

"Kurama said that if they had decided to use me, he would have made an appearance and 'dissuaded' them."

Both Takumi and Tsunade laughed at that. They could clearly see the scene where Kurama, a nine-tailed fox the size of the castle, was staring down on the judges and berating them with all the vocabulary a millennia old demon would know in their minds.

Reaching the tent that stood next to the lake, Takumi kissed Naruko and told them that he would see them after the task. He then stepped inside of the tent, leaving Naruko and Tsunade outside. Together, the two kunoichi's walked away from the tent and over to the viewing platforms that had been erected a short distance away. When they got there, Tsunade went over to the judges' area, whilst Naruko went and sat down next to Professor Sprout.

Inside the tent, Takumi sat on a stool as Bagman explained the second task. Not really caring about what the windbag was saying, he instead observed the other contestants. Krum and Diggory seemed nervous, yet determined, but Delacour had a pasty white colour and he could see real fear in her eyes. Having observed the French delegation, he knew it wasn't due to who her hostage was, as the only missing member was a girl who had talked the most with Delacour during his time at Hogwarts.

Noticing that Bagman had stopped talking and the other three champions were moving towards the exit, he stood up and followed them. They walked along the shore, until they came to a small jetty in front of the viewing platforms. While Bagman introduced them and explained the task for the crowd, the other three champions began to strip out of their clothes, while Takumi just stood there.

Why they were stripping down soon became apparent, as they all had swimwear on under their normal clothes. Delacour was wearing a golden one piece swimsuit, while Krum and Diggory wore swimming trunks – yellow for Diggory and maroon for Krum. Once done, they all lined up at the edge of the jetty.

"Now, when the cannon goes off, the second task will begin." Bagman announced. "Champions, are you ready..? Then, on three… One, Two Three!"

 ***BOOM***

The cannon fired, and every champion except Takumi jumped into the water. He started to walk on the surface instead. Once he was about 20 meters out, he pulled his re-breather out, put it in his mouth and let himself sink into the lake.

Looking around, he started to slowly swim towards the area he knew the merfolk village was in. after about ten minutes of swimming, he came upon an interesting scene. One of the other champions, Delacour, was currently under attack by over twenty creatures that looked like a combination of some reject experiment of Orochimaru and an octopus.

As he watched, one of the creatures scored a hit on Delacour, which opened a wound on her shoulder and cut the left shoulder strap of her swimsuit. Deciding that it wouldn't do for her to get more wounded or killed, he quickly clapped his hands together before pushing his right hand forward.

' _ **Suiton: Goshokuzame!"**_

From the tip of his fingers, five sharks made of water materialized and attacked the creatures in a frenzy. While the creatures died, Delacour looked around in shock due to the sudden appearance of the sharks. When the last creature had fallen, Takumi swam towards Delacour. While he wasn't a medic, Tsunade had taught him enough for him to be able to heal minor wounds.

Swimming up to Delacour, he made a motion towards her shoulder and looked at her in question. After thinking for a moment, she nodded and he put his hand on the wound. For a few moments it glowed green, and when he removed it, the wound was closed. She would have a scar there, but it was a small price to pay for avoiding being killed.

Looking at her shoulder, she mouthed a 'thank you' towards him, before repairing her swimsuit and taking off again. Looking after her for a moment, Takumi then went his own way. A few minutes later, he was attacked by another group of creatures, but a quick application of **Suiton: Hahonryū** , took care of that.

Twice more was he attacked before he reached the village, but he took care of them just as quickly as he had the first attack. Arriving at the village, he saw that two of the hostages had been rescued, and that Delacour was in the action of rescuing hers. Swimming up to Hinata, he noticed in his peripheral vision how Delacour had severed the bindings of her target, and were now swimming away with said girl dragging behind her.

Ripping the ropes apart with his chakra enhanced strength, he pulled a second rebreather out of his equipment pouch and put it in Hinatas' mouth. Once her body recognized the presence of breathable air, she woke up. A quick activation of her Byakugan gave her the environmental and situational input needed, and after a nod to Takumi, they both began swimming towards the jetty.

Thanks to the fact they both could swim, they made better time than the others, and as such, they passed Delacour just about 50 meters away from the finishing line. They could see another champion breach the surface ahead of them, and with a few strong strokes, they did the same.

Once they were through, they removed their re-breathers and climbed on top the surface, before walking the last few paces to the jetty. There, they joined the other champions, who was being checked over by Madam Pomfrey. A few minutes of this, and they were released so that the judges could score them. Lining up on the jetty, they waited for the judges to finish deliberating. It didn't take long for them to finish, and after clearing his throat, Bagman started to talk.

"Ladies and gentlemen, students and guests, the second task has now officially ended!" Bagman began, and the crowd applauded. "Now, the judges has talked things over, and it's time for our champions to receive their scores.

In first place, with a respectable time of 52 minutes, we have Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts. Mr Diggory used an excellent Bubblehead charm, and was the first to reach the hostages, as well as being the first one back. The judges has decided to award him with 50 points.

In second place, just clearing the time limit with 59 minutes, we have Viktor Krum of Durmstrang. Mr Krum used an advanced form of self-transfiguration, which allowed him to breathe under water. Unfortunately, he had some trouble when it came to rescue his hostage, and lost some time due to it. Despite that, he was able to finish within the allotted time, and as such, is rewarded with 45 points.

In third place, missing the time limit with only a few moments, we have Mr Takumi of Konohagakure on 62 minutes. Mr Takumi used some type of device to breathe under water, and the judges are interested in what it was, so before we continue, perhaps Mr Takumi could tell us."

Stepping forward, Takumi spoke up.

"The device in question is called a re-breather, and it does exact what it's called; it uses what you call magic to transform the air the user breathe out into oxygen, which allows the user to stay under water for hours."

The judges looked at each other before nodding, and telling Bagman something.

"The judges has decided that the re-breather is a legal due to its use of magic to function." Bagman announced. "To continue with the scoring; Mr Takumi stopped to help Miss Delacour when she was attacked by a pack of Grindylows, and even healed the wound Miss Delacour received. Thanks to this act of selflessness, the judges has decided to award Mr Takumi 40 points, despite not finishing the task in time.

And finally, Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons. Just as Mr Diggory, Miss Delacour used a Bubblehead charm to navigate the lake. Unfortunately, she completed the task in 63 minutes, and as such, won't be given a high score. However, she did complete the task despite being attacked, and as such, the judges has awarded her with 30 points."

"The third task will take place on June the 24th, make sure you don't miss it." Bagman finished.

As soon as Bagman had stopped talking, Takumi and Hinata left the jetty, and were soon joined by Naruko and Tsunade. While Naruko hugged both Takumi and Hinata, Tsunade congratulated him.

"Well done, Takumi." She said. "Your actions during the task showed them what it truly means to be a Konoha shinobi."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama." Takumi said with a small bow. "Despite Delacour-san being an opponent, there was no way I would leave her to possibly die."

"And that is exactly what I mean." Tsunade said. "No true Konoha shinobi would kill an opponent, unless forced to in a life or death battle. After all, hate and violence only breeds the same."

"Yes, and it's much more fun to make friends than it is to make enemies." Naruko injected.

"That it is." Tsunade said with a small laugh, and together, the four of them returned to the castle.

* * *

 **And that's the end of this chapter.**

 **First, the two techniques used in this chapter:**

 **Suiton: Goshokuzame = Water Release: Five Feeding Sharks.**

 **The user claps their hands together before placing one hand on the water. From the user's fingers, chakra is pushed into the water which is moulded into five sharks, which then attacks their target in a frenzy.**

 **Suiton: Hahonryū = Water Release: Tearing Torrent.**

 **Water is formed in the user's hand, and begins to spin at a high speed. This water is then fired at a high velocity towards the target, ripping it asunder.**

 **Apart from that; Yes, I know I didn't describe how or why the judges knew what had happened under the water, but my answer to that is… Magic! Besides, Rowling didn't write how anyone was able to see the second task either, so my answer is canon.**

 **Only a few more chapter for this story. Next chapter will be a shorter interlude in which Takumi goes to another class, and in the chapter after that, third task will take place. So, three or four more chapters, before this story ends.**

 **Anyway, next story to be updated is A Child of Light and Madness, with chapter 20, the conclusion on Halloween.**

 **Until then, enjoy.**

 **Baleygr**


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